MAN ON A MISSION – The DVD Review

Review by Dane Marti

I’ve always been crazy about space, the planets, astronomy and even spaceships. I love Science Fiction. Part of it is the imaginative element inherent within the genre. However, fiction cannot compare to the incredible experience that real astronauts feel when they have seen the earth or even gone to the moon. Now, that really is a Trip. It must be almost spiritual, changing how you see your own planet, your own existence. Basically, Reality beats fantasy.

“Part of human nature is to reach out and explore”, someone comments early in the documentary MAN ON A MISSION.

As a boy, Richard Garriott was surrounded by conversations outer space. Everyone in his neighborhood worked for NASA and—-His father was an astronaut. Can you imagine going to Grade School and telling your friends, “Well, my dad is an astronaut?” Pretty cool. Like many young boys and girls, Richard also longed for space travel someday. Unfortunately, Richard was nearsighted. Luckily for the viewer, Richard has a swell way in dealing with setbacks.

So, in the early seventies, when still a young man, he became a game designer. He was at the forefront of this pioneering new visual game world played on small, portable computers that would someday be in ubiquitous in every human’s home. Richard worked on many of the first computer graphics and games. AKALABETH was his first game: Friends advised him to sell it, since it was better than most of the games they had in the store: He made 150.00 dollars. Listening to his father’s advice, Richard began investing his money wisely. He had always thought of money in a different way than most of his friends. First, he invested in Spacehab, which basically entailed research involved converting the Space Shuttle into a Space-Age bus. This was all speculation, but the goal was to someday allow private citizens to travel into space! YES!

As he continued to dream, he also designed amazing earlier computer games:
ULTIMA and ULTIMA 2 were some of the first. Richard is now known as the Father of the modern role-playing games.Of course, he was a unique young man. Of course, he also had a knack for making cash, but there were more sides to his character. For instance, he started dressing like one of the characters in his computer role-playing world – a Medieval Lord from one of his games! Besides being a genius, he was also a nerd. The costume looked very authentic and cool, though.
Richard spent his money better than most humans – he traveled down the Amazon, traveled on safaris in Africa,even went perilously deep under the ocean in a submarine to see The Titanic. Maybe some folks might consider him a dork or nerd, but let’s face it – he also had GUTS.

His most extravagant dream remained: To travel into outer space like his good old pop!Then the Internet bubble burst and he lost much of his computer game wealth.
Time passed and he slowly had enough capital to start again. After an operation to see whether his organs could handle space travel (A physical problem was taken care of), he found a group of people that ‘for the right amount of money’ would allow him to fulfill his dream. The Russians came on board. He would buy a 30 million dollar ticket on a Soyuz rocket to outer space and dock with the Space Station. Some of the most harrowing and interesting aspects to the documentary are preparations for the journey into the stars, including Virtual Reality work to simulate outer space, as well as work in a swimming pool to become acclimated in how his body would behave in Zero G.

The film travels to Mother Russia, where Richard begins training at STAR CITY – outside Moscow. Until recently, it had been a very special and mysterious place during The Cold War years. The hardest part of training, Richard and another astronaut agree, is learning the Russian language. Everything must be factored-in for the adventure. All in all, Richard and the other astronauts would spend 12 days in space, orbiting the earth. There are worse ways of spending a few days!
Interesting fact: A human’s spinal cord stretches out in outer space, so a hardened plaster cast of the astronaut is made, creating the form of the perfect space suit, one that fits and, more importantly is technically safe. Watching our hero descend into the plaster is funny; we can tell how uncomfortable that would be, but that is of little concern when the big picture is to survive in space, to deal with the physics of zero gravity.

There are a plethora of great sequences in MAN ON A MISSION. Here is just one: As borderline silly as certain issues pertaining to surviving in space might seem to the average Joe such as myself, they are all massively vital issues that a person in space must deal with or die. For instance, there is a discussion about the importance and necessity in wearing adult diapers within the space suit. It might sound humorous but when you got to go….Another interesting aspect to the film, at least to me, was the cinematography, including shots of the Russian landscape where Richard and the other astronauts prepare. And the astronauts, including Richard, work hard. This isn’t a walk in the park on a Sunday, baby! Unmentioned, but always on the minds of all the scientists, technicians and astronauts is a concern for safety, the desire to get everything right. Always in the back of every man’s mind is the fear that something was missed and this could lead to a catastrophic disaster.

Preparations are set and it is time for the moment of truth.His father, the NASA astronaut, comes to watch as his son goes into space.
For people to do more than just enjoy this film in a dull, uninvolved way, it becomes important that the viewer is engrossed in the human aspect of this true story. Luckily, this film has a great lead subject: Richard seems to be a truly intelligent and nice person.I found the music score to be a little hokey at first, but as I listened, it did take on a subtle, majestic ambiance that never bombarded the listener.The subtle, realistic suspense in watching the rocket launch was poignant, especially with shots of his older father. From the ground, friends shed tears. The rocket explodes upward.The film shifts to zero gravity. We see their food floating in front of the astronauts. Toothpaste seems to have a supernatural mind of its own. Little things like this might sound mundane, but are intriguing.

Of course, although I’ve seen it before, the images of our planet Earth are spectacular. For once, the term awesome applies.

The documentary is conventionally made, but never devolves into a banal educational film. Another high point is when Richard and his Russian astronauts rendezvous with the space station. Once the space capsule and Station dock, there are friendly greetings and conversation. The film contains many warm moments. The Doc. Also contains fantastic attention to detail. In space, Richard must learn to reorient himself. The perception of what constitutes the floor/ what constitutes the ceiling of the station, is seen to be rather unimportant in space. His Sleeping bag is tethered to the floor. Richard also works on research. Because he had laser eye surgery, he does many eye tests. Also, he works with Gyroscopes. He analyzes its spinning– keeping the same general up and down attitude as the Space Station is seen as a way to deal with living and maneuvering craft while in orbit. Wow. He even has time for Art. This was something I wasn’t expecting. Richard uses Microgravity in creating art – ala Jackson Pollock. Another cool moment occurs when he communicates with his father. As his father had done before him, he communicates via a Ham Radio. Richard mentions that, due to natural and human factors, our earth has changed during the period in which his father took shots of the earth surface and later when his son did it as well. Richard talked of the movie Metropolis, how the Space Station interior reminded him of it: The U.S. area is spacious and well lit – almost too sanitary, then passing into the Russia segment of the station, there is a dramatic shift in shadows and equipment. The corridor’s become more enclosed, with technical and practical concerns taking on more importance in this area of the station. For instance, this is the area in which the astronauts shower. Trash is dumped and burns up in the atmosphere.

A moment of humor is when Richard discusses how more research on earth needs to be accomplished in preparing one for using the bathroom in outer space! When Richard and his partners depart from the space station to return to earth, saying goodbye to the friends they have made – Richard said it was more bittersweet than he had expected. Re-entry: Split Screen helps dramatize the suspense and thrill of coming back to earth. The editing becomes more frenzied. We almost feel the abrasive crash as the craft smashes into the earth. The screen fades to black. Did something horrible, something tragic transpire? Then we see still photographs that show the astronauts back on terra firma and celebrating. Having been on many adventures, Richard was surprised how transformative and life changing the space orbit had been. As a document of behavior in outer space, MAN ON A MISSION is literally eye opening, a treat for the entire family. Actually, it is a worthwhile investment of one’s time to watch this documentary, especially if you have spent too much time watching bollocks and crap like American Idol! As for me, I definitely learned a lot. Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the amazing shots from space, but the human element as well that made this a sterling documentary.

MAN ON A MISSION is an outstanding piece of work and a testament to what a single man can do. I’d enjoy meeting Richard in person and shaking his hand. I cannot say enough positive things about this work. It might even make someone consider traveling into space some day. It is that special.