The Martian
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[rating: 4/5]
Well, that was convenient timing, wasn’t it? NASA announces a breakthrough discovery of water on Mars just as a film literally called The Martian is about to hit cinemas. A cynical person might go into conspiracy theories about Fox potentially paying off Nasa to hold on announcing any big discoveries until it could coincide with the release of their film. But I think I will stick with the happier, potentially naive, train of thought that the people in Fox’s marketing department are jumping for joy that their ritual goat sacrifices finally paid off. Speculation and marketing aside, the main question now is whether Ridley Scott’s The Martian is actually something worth getting excited about.
When a routine NASA mission on Mars gets prematurely cut short by a freak storm, the expedition lead by disco-loving Captain Lewis (Jessica Chastain) has to make a quick emergency evacuation. When team Botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is caught by flying debris and his life support communicator goes offline it is safely assumed that he didn’t make it. Obviously, this wasn’t the case. Mark Watney now has to rely on his ingenuity and resourcefulness to try and keep himself alive long enough for NASA to realise he’s still alive and send help. The solution? He’s going to have to ‘science the shit out of this’.
To be honest, I was expecting something pretty grim. Even if Ridley Scott broke his impressive recent track record of making awful movies, survival movies at their best usually feature your protagonist being shat on and run through the ringer for around two hours. I am happy to say, however, that not only is The Martian Ridley Scott’s best film since around 2007 (American Gangster), but it is embued with enough humour, charm and heart that what could have potentially been a bit of an emotional slog turned into a fun, interesting and entertaining cinematic experience. While performances were all top notch and the visuals nothing short of impressive, it is Drew Goddard’s sharp screenplay and quippy dialogue that really give this film it’s edge.
As witty and clever as the film could be with it’s charismatic lead and fun science jargon, it still feels a little lacking. There seems to be a notable desire here by Scott and Goddard to avoid anything truly darker about the experience of being trapped and isolated so far from home. The psychological impact of the experience on Mark Watney is never truly fleshed out and his cheery disposition never truly feels challenged. In fact, the character of Mark Watney is so competent that there is never really an obstacle portrayed that you feel he can’t overcome. It kind of spoils the tension building in your film when the audience has complete and utter faith in it’s main character.
Despite it’s lack of true dramatic tension, The Martian is still an extremely successful film thanks in large to it’s fantastic cast, smart screenplay from Goddard and back-on-form direction from Ridley Scott. Whether you are influenced by the presence of water or not, I think this little trip to Mars is definitely worth the ride.
