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The Martian (2015) |
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead
after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has
survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet.
With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and
spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Director:Ridley Scott
Writers:Drew Goddard (screenplay), Andy Weir (book)
Stars: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig |
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Storyline
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead
after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has
survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet.
With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and
spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work
tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates
concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these
stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root
for Watney's safe return. Based on a best-selling novel. Written by
20th Century Fox
User Reviews
A captivating and thrilling, if straightforward, Sci-Fi survival story
The Martian is directed
by Ridley Scott and stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney, an astronaut
stranded on Mars after being presumed dead when a dust storm forces his
crew to evacuate their base without him. Watney must find a way to
contact NASA while also surviving on a planet without food or water.
This movie does not waste time getting started, and quickly sets the plot in motion by forcing the crew to evacuate and stranding Watney on Mars. Aside from one or two large time jumps, the film's pacing was solid and kept the plot moving while never overwhelming the viewer. For a survival movie, it had a rather sparse amount of the thrills, however those it did provide were unpredictable and truly felt consequential, each one radically altering Watney's situation.
The film's script inherits the books humorous and snarky dialogue, and manages to balance it with the perils of Watney's situation perfectly. Watney provides comic relief and often makes light of his dire situation, however through Matt Damon's performance and a sharp script, the humor never clashes with the film's survivalist tone.
Speaking of Matt Damon, he proves massively watchable as Mark Watney, and even gives a surprisingly committed performance as his body begins to suffer from his food rationing. He delivers the dialogue well, and I feel in the hands of a lesser actor a lot of the snarky writing would have come off as awkward or out of place. While I would not say his performance goes as far as Sandra Bullock in Gravity, another one-person space survival, it is nonetheless solid and at times quite impressive.
The Martian also inherits it's source materials strong dedication to scientific accuracy, and definitely qualifies as a "Hard" sci-fi movie. The science-based story unfortunately does lead to quite a bit of technobabble between NASA and the other astronauts, which while sometimes a little off putting is still simple enough to not disrupt the film in any significant way.
From what I've said, the movie probably seems quite good. And that's the problem. The Martian is just that; quite good. It lacks the technical ambition of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity or the emotional resonance of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and never quite rises from "good" to "fantastic". Aside from the final sequence, the movie doesn't provide much emotional connection to the characters. While it can be frustrating to see the setbacks Watney constantly faces, the film doesn't really bother to invest you enough to have true empathy for him or the rest of his crew.
The plot also at times does become a bit crowded, especially around two-thirds into the movie. Between Watney, his crew, NASA, and the other characters, it does become difficult to keep up.
Nonetheless, the Martian is still a captivating, well-written and visually marvelous film, even if it never manages to become more than its source material.
This movie does not waste time getting started, and quickly sets the plot in motion by forcing the crew to evacuate and stranding Watney on Mars. Aside from one or two large time jumps, the film's pacing was solid and kept the plot moving while never overwhelming the viewer. For a survival movie, it had a rather sparse amount of the thrills, however those it did provide were unpredictable and truly felt consequential, each one radically altering Watney's situation.
The film's script inherits the books humorous and snarky dialogue, and manages to balance it with the perils of Watney's situation perfectly. Watney provides comic relief and often makes light of his dire situation, however through Matt Damon's performance and a sharp script, the humor never clashes with the film's survivalist tone.
Speaking of Matt Damon, he proves massively watchable as Mark Watney, and even gives a surprisingly committed performance as his body begins to suffer from his food rationing. He delivers the dialogue well, and I feel in the hands of a lesser actor a lot of the snarky writing would have come off as awkward or out of place. While I would not say his performance goes as far as Sandra Bullock in Gravity, another one-person space survival, it is nonetheless solid and at times quite impressive.
The Martian also inherits it's source materials strong dedication to scientific accuracy, and definitely qualifies as a "Hard" sci-fi movie. The science-based story unfortunately does lead to quite a bit of technobabble between NASA and the other astronauts, which while sometimes a little off putting is still simple enough to not disrupt the film in any significant way.
From what I've said, the movie probably seems quite good. And that's the problem. The Martian is just that; quite good. It lacks the technical ambition of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity or the emotional resonance of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and never quite rises from "good" to "fantastic". Aside from the final sequence, the movie doesn't provide much emotional connection to the characters. While it can be frustrating to see the setbacks Watney constantly faces, the film doesn't really bother to invest you enough to have true empathy for him or the rest of his crew.
The plot also at times does become a bit crowded, especially around two-thirds into the movie. Between Watney, his crew, NASA, and the other characters, it does become difficult to keep up.
Nonetheless, the Martian is still a captivating, well-written and visually marvelous film, even if it never manages to become more than its source material.
