Matt Damon proves once again that he is worth every penny that Hollywood throws at him.
I’ve been looking forward to seeing The Martian for a while now, not only because of the origins of the story, but also because of the talent that has been assembled behind it. Even though the story is relatively simple, the film does a great job at depicting the struggles of one man in one of the hardest pieces of science fiction that I’ve seen in years. I am predicting that this film could go as far as the Academy Awards, and I hope it gets that kind of recognition because it deserves it.
The Plot
An all-star cast is put to great use here.
After a sandstorm forces his team to abort their mission on Mars, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) finds himself stranded and must find a way to survive in the desolate wasteland, contact NASA, and hold out long enough for a rescue attempt.
This is one of those stories where simplicity and a tight cast make all the difference in the world. At a little over two hours, this story is structured kind of like a fast-paced diary, splitting its’ time between Watney’s struggles on Mars and the internal workings of NASA. It doesn’t feel like there is a minute of screen time that did not deserve to be there, and they even managed to stuff in a few geeky references and surprise appearances that I did not see coming. It’s simple, effective, and hits all the right notes.
The Cast
Led by Hollywood heavyweights like Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain, the cast is uniformly excellent. However, you need to go into this recognizing that Damon carries the show. The usage of video diaries as a means of telling his story was a great way to showcase his remarkable charisma. He’s at the top of his game here.
The Humor
“I’m gonna science the shit outta this” is the new catchphrase of the century.
The main thing that makes this movie work for me is the sense of atmosphere. In lesser hands, the story could have easily ended up as a dark thriller that depressed the audience with Watney’s emotional trauma, but I was taken aback by just how funny it is. Watney and his fellows have great, almost Tarantino-esque dialogue that really helps to show how he is going to fight to get off the planet at any cost. I was laughing through at least half of the movie with Watney, and that made me want to root for the guy even harder.
Good job, Drew Goddard and Andy Weir. You made me like everyone in that film without stooping to dumb cliches or hackneyed plotlines.
The Downsides
What’s the deal with speaking through a computer, am I right, you guys?
This film is great, but I have to nitpick because I am just that kind of guy and there were no major plot or technical issues that I’ve noticed. First, I had no idea that Gloria Estefan was a disco artist. I could have sworn she was in Latin pop! Second, why no Marvin the Martian references? That would have been such a great line that would make pop culture snobs like me that much more in love with this movie. And…
I’ve got nothing else.
I mean, sure, they might have wanted to add a bit more character to the other astronauts, but we know who they are and it would distract the focus of the film from Watney. They could have spent more time exploring what happened to Watney, but Ridley Scott struck a nice balance between too little and too much detail. When you think of every single potential problem, there is a good reason for why they adopted that creative choice.
Conclusion
I’m smelling an Oscar for Matt Damon. From top to bottom, this film is a stunning story of survival and laughing in the face of death. It’s also a nice tool to get a bit more international interest in our space programs, which seem to have fallen by the wayside in the eyes of the public. I hope that you, dear reader, can still catch it while it is in the movie theater. If not, then don’t hesitate to pick it up on Blu-Ray or Digital Download. It’s a grand, triumphant film that is not to be missed.
But when we do end up going to Mars, let’s make sure that our exit vehicle can’t tip over, okay?
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