It’s a testament of a truly good film when two weeks after I saw it I’m still thinking about it fondly and can’t wait to see it again. I mentioned in this post that I had been anticipating this film for a couple of reasons, but deep down I still wished it’d be good as I like Ridley Scott. Well, glad to report that the 77-year-old British thespian certainly still got it.
If the plot makes you think of Saving Private Ryan because it involves saving Matt Damon, well you wouldn’t be wrong, but the similarities pretty much end there. The film doesn’t waste much time to get to the part when Mark Watney is left alone in Mars following an accident that made his teammates presumed he’s killed. It turns out he survives the accident but that’s only the beginning of his journey being stranded in a desolate planet. The first act pretty much contains scenes of Watney dealing with the concept of surviving on whatever resources is left on the space station, as the next Mars mission would take at least four years.
There are similarities to Gravity and Interstellar, but I think The Martian is a heck of a lot more entertaining than both. It’s an intelligent crowd pleaser that doesn’t dumb down the audience, but it also doesn’t bog us down with scientific mumbo jumbo or bludgeon us with over-sentimentality. Even the scenes in NASA with a terrific ensemble cast doesn’t feel at all boring or obligatory and has its share of amusing and fun moments. The emotional moments throughout the film feels natural and not at all manipulative, a testament to the shrewd script by Drew Goddard and Scott’s direction.
The whole concept of an astronaut growing potatoes inside a space station certainly make for some amusing and highly entertaining scenes. Whether it’s actually possible or not doesn’t really matter, and that’s what I find about this film. I find that I don’t pick apart the science as much as I did with say Interstellar, as I was completely invested in Watney’s journey from start to finish. It helps too that the script is really focused about the ‘bring him home’ storyline and keep it frill-free from unneccessary subplots.
As for that ensemble cast, I’ll mention those who impressed me most, starting with Jeff Daniels as NASA chief Teddy Sanders. He made him memorable even though he’s not the most interesting characters. The same could be said with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Wong as two lead scientists tasked to help bring Watney home. Sean Bean is always great to watch but there is one particularly memorable scene involving a very famous fantasy trilogy that made his casting even more perfect. They actually have more to do in the film than Watney’s fellow team mates including Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan and Aksel Hennie, though they are all pretty good in their roles. Donald Glover also has a brief but memorable role as a young genius astronomer who provides a key theory for the recovery mission. But the real star here is obviously Damon, who has the most screen time and most of his scenes are basically a one-man-show of him talking to the camera.
The Martian looks phenomenal and has some breathtaking *aerial shots* by Dariusz Wolski of the red planet, shot in Wadi Rum, Jordan, which has a red-colored desert. That said, it’s not a style-over-substance film, in fact, it’s a story and character-driven piece, which is what every film should be. It must have been hellish for Watney to be stuck up there on his own, but thankfully, watching him being stuck there isn’t. The survival story is more akin to Tom Hanks’ Castaway, given the humorous tone and amazing survival skills of the protagonist. This is perhaps one of my favorite roles of Matt Damon, and he’s as likable and funny as he ever as astronaut Mark Watney.
As with any survival story, there is an element of inspiration that make you appreciate what you have on earth, from profound things like spending time with your family to seemingly-trivial things like duct tape. But the film does it in such a droll and fun way, which seems to be faithful in terms to tone to Andy Weir‘s sci-fi novel, described by one book critic as “…sharp, funny and thrilling, with just the right amount of geekery” (per Wiki). I also love that The Martian is not dark and brooding despite the rather grim subject matter of a man being trapped alone in space. It’s also not nearly as violent as Scott’s other sci-fi film, apart from an earlier scene that definitely made me avert my eyes. This could very well be the most enjoyable theatrical experience from Ridley Scott since Gladiator, so yeah sir, we’re definitely entertained. And thanks for making another epic film that I can watch and appreciate for years to come.
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Simply one great adaptation of Andy Weir’s splendid humanist sci-fi novel. Hear, hear.
Indeed it was. I love it more than I thought, which is always a good thing! 😀
Gathered the gist of the book, which I thought would be the hardest aspect to translate to the screen. Best of Sir Ridley’s since ‘Gladiator’, indeed. 🙂
Hey Ruth! Glad to see that you found The Martian as entertaining as I did. I totally agree with you about this film being Scott’s best since Gladiator. Hopefully the success of it will inspire him to go on a roll with directing other great movies. It’s amazing how light everything seemed given the severity of Mark’s situation. All around great performances and visually beautiful!
Hi Raul, glad to see you stop by! Yes now I’m more hopeful about the Blade Runner sequel n hopefully Mr Scott will still have a few more good movies in the future. He is quite a prolific guy. Yes best film he did since Gladiator by far. The humor works but it also doesn’t lessen the dire situation Wattney finds himself in.
Ruth,
We just came home from seeing it. I totally get bored with ANY movie after 1 hour and 20 minutes. This movie was much longer, and I never tired of if. Really great entertainment, and Matt Damon does a remarkable job. Loved it!
Liz
Hello Liz! Yes it’s always a good sign when you don’t look at your watch at all during the movie. I wasn’t bored at all even I all the NASA dialog scenes. Glad you enjoyed it too!
So glad you liked it, Ruth! I can’t wait to see it. Hopefully tomorrow. 🙂
Woo hop! Hope you like it as much as I did Cindy!
Great review Ruth, saw it on Friday and thoroughly enjoyed it. The visuals are great and Damon’s performance was top notch, I’ve just purchased the novel as I’m curious to see ho they compare. Glad Sir Ridley has still got it also, lets see how Prometheus 2 pans out…
Hi Chris! Glad to hear. Yeah, the visuals are great, which is what I’ve come to expect from Ridley Scott, but it’s nice that it’s far from style over substance, the story/performances are ace too. I’m not hugely anticipating Prometheus 2 tho, as I don’t really care for the first film, but I’m looking forward to Blade Runner 2!
Good review Ruth. A very fun movie, but also an exciting one that kept me interested just about the whole way through.
Yeah, it was engrossing pretty much from start to finish, which given the running time is quite impressive!
Loved it. Damon is our James Stewart in my book; an everyman we can all identify with. Scott’s best for a long time.
Yes I’d agree with you about Damon being an every man actor. I think this generation’s Jimmy Stewart is Tom Hanks but Damon certainly possesses a similar quality.
Nice review, Ruth! I really like the movie, but I’m not sure if I love it. Still, Damon is great, and the cast is very good. The visuals and below-the-line elements are first-rate, too. Hopefully, this will be a big hit for Scott.
Hi Josh! I was surprised to say that I love this one, given how blase I was initially but I think Scott did a splendid job, as was the script & performances. It was #1 at the box office this weekend!
I’m so here for the return of Ridley Scott!!!
Have you seen it yet Drew? Yes, sir Ridley is back, woo hoo!!
Great review Ruth. I didn’t managed to see this over the weekend as I expected – I ended up watching The Walk and Macbeth instead. It sounds like this might have been a better choice than The Walk (which I found very disappointing), so I’ll make sure I catch up with it soon.
Hi Natalie! I actually have no desire to see The Walk, I’d rather just see the doc Man on Wire instead. It’ll probably make me nauseous anyway. The Martian is VERY good, I think you’d love it too.
You have the right idea there Ruth. Stick with Man on Wire 🙂
I only skimmed through your review, I didn’t get a chance to go see it this weekend. But I’m going to see it tomorrow night! I’ll come back with my take on it.
Hi Ted! I’m curious to hear what you think. Hope you like it as much as I did.
I saw it last night and I thought it’s great too. Maybe the most feel good film I’ve seen in a while, probably the lightest film Scott ever made! Loved the visual, especially in 3D and of course the Dolby Atmos soundtrack was spectacular!
Great review Ruth. I’m right there with you — this is one of Scott’s best films and it’s refreshing to see his take on a sci-fi story that isn’t tonally bleak. I laughed a lot, and really felt for Watney throughout the film.
Thanks Adam! So far everyone seem to love this movie as much as I did, which is cool! I think the book was lighthearted as well, nice that Scott kept that tone in the movie. I’m doing a music break post on this one tomorrow, I LOVE that soundtrack & disco songs 😛
Glad to see you liked this. It’ll be a little while before I get a chance to go see it, but I thought the book was terrific.
Hi Ruth! Good review! I saw some clips of this movie and it’s definitely on my to watch list! It does remind me of Gravity but with a lot more interesting casts! 😉 The visuals are amazing! Can’t wait to watch it.
Amazing film and like you I can’t wait to see it again.
Glad to hear Nostra!!
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