The Martian is less a coup de cinema than Gravity, which jettisons through open space with swooping 720-degree camera moves, but it’s a triumph of another kind, an ode to problem-solving and sticktuitiveness. Watney is the lowest-ranking member of his team and the least equipped to handle such a situation – with one notable caveat: As a botany specialist, his assignment was to investigate whether plants could grow in an environment without fertilizer or water – and now, with only enough food to last 400 sols and the next planned mission almost four years away, Watney’s ability to pull off that tall order will determine whether he lives or dies. But the film is a reminder of innovations and advances possible when smart people have to work together to find solutions to complex problems. Besides the uber-nerdiness here, I love that the clip highlights the insane supporting cast in this movie. Dilemmas both moral and mechanical seem to stretch the runtime rather than serve it and you long for a return to Mars – which itself gets the MVP (Most Valuable Planet) nod thanks to Dariusz Wolski’s fantastic cinematography of its desert-double, Jordan. The rest of the cast gains similar benefit just from being likeable company, including Sean Bean, who’s casting may be just for the sake of really driving home an extended Lord of the Rings reference.
Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, a botanist-astronaut on a manned mission to Mars who, during a scary windstorm, is injured, presumed dead, and left behind by his reluctant crew. Watney quickly figures out what he needs to do to survive, and begins working.
I expect “The Martian” will find the box-office velocity it deserves.
Initially, I didn’t buy that of all the TV shows in history, “Happy Days” would be the first one playing on Mars. It’s not a suspense thriller, however, it’s a story of hope and survival, and Ridley maintains that attitude throughout. It gets a little gimmicky with Damon’s character explaining everything to us by way of the video logs he keeps to pass the time, but “The Martian” keeps us hooked by paying attention to the various factions back on Earth, who slowly realize their man is still up there and then have to devise ways to bring him back. Henry Gregson-Williams does a great job of making the score feel urgent and emotional without overwhelming anything. “That’s all I’m saying”, Daniels replied. Like Interstellar before it, deep down The Martian is all about telling the kids growing up now that, yes, you can dream about going to Mars. Fortunately, he’s got a big handsome brain full of useful facts involving hydrogen, radiation, solar panels and human poo, and the uncanny ability to turn one giant unsolvable puzzle into a series of smaller, yet manageable tasks. If everybody says it won’t work, screw them, just go out and do it. With that, Ridley Scott has given us something special.
Scott has tackled the sci-fi genre before in classics like “Alien” and “Blade Runner“, but said he’s most inspired by another type of film altogether: the Western.