Okay,
so I love this movie. Surprise, surprise,
right? But that’s all right – I don’t
care. I’ll gladly love it. It’s a fantastic film, with smarts, laughs,
and heart, and I’m interested in reading the book it’s based on. Gravity
comparisons are probably inevitable, but while I’d say Gravity has a better look, The
Martian has a better story. (Premise
spoilers.)
Thanks
to a freak accident during a storm, Mark Watney, part of a team of astronauts
collecting data/samples on Mars, is presumed dead/left behind when the rest of
the team is forced to abandon their mission and leave the red planet. Alone on Mars with limited supplies, no way
of contacting NASA, and the knowledge that the next manned mission is in four
years, Watney is determined to fight for his survival. He faces every problem the inhospitable
planet throws at him – from a dangerous lack of food to crushing isolation –
armed with his science knowhow and incredible resilience.
Like
most films that center around a single character completely on their own, this
is a movie that lives and dies on its protagonist, and Watney is more than up
to the task. He’s resourceful and brilliant
(but not infallible – some of his trial-and-error gambles are pretty heavy on
the “error” part.) He’s wildly
tenacious, pressing on past the death of hope in the face of gargantuan
odds. And honestly, one of the clearest
indicators of his strength of character is the sheer fact that he maintains his
wry, self-deprecating sense of humor throughout his hardships. By turns jaw-dropping, tense, hilarious, and
heartbreaking, this is a film that grabs the viewer with both hands and doesn’t
let go. It’s a long one, clocking in at
almost two-and-a-half hours, but I honestly never felt the length; it kept my
attention the whole time.
But
while Watney is definitely the well-deserved focal point of the story, it’s not
only his film. When NASA inevitably
discovers that Watney is alive and stranded on Mars, a whole team of space-and-aeronautic
geniuses band together to figure out how they can span the enormous distance
between Earth and Watney to give aid, assistance, and, ultimately, rescue. Some photograph the heavens, some build machines
following impossible time-tables, some problem-solve living on a planet without
life, and some sit alone scrawling equations, but each does what they can,
however large or small, to help Watney as they’re able.
The
cast list reads like a who’s who of awesome people. As Watney, Matt Damon carries the film on his
spacesuited back, equal parts hero, genius, smart-aleck, and lonely, desperate
man. He capably sells everything the
character has to offer. However, he has tons
of help. On the ground, we have Sean
frickin’ Bean, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Mackenzie Davis from Halt and Catch Fire, Donald Glover(!),
and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Chiwetel Ejiofor, people!) The rest of the crew from Watney’s mission,
which includes a terrific Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Michael Peña (seen
recently in Ant-Man,) and Sebastian
Stan, is particularly great. I love any
scenes that they share; it’s blindingly obvious that they’re all as lionhearted
as they are brilliant, and they love each other like a family. Clearly, Watney isn’t the only exceptional
individual in his crew.
Warnings
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