As if “Saving Private Ryan” meets “October Sky,” “The Martian” is an exciting and shockingly comedic race against the clock. Adapted from the famous Andy Weir novel, “The Martian” provides an extremely talented cast, a beautiful set, a well paced plot line, and a very enjoyable watch.
“The Martian” follows Dr. Mark Whitney, a botanist and astronaut who gets stranded on Mars after a space-discovery mission goes awry. Left with no other options except to lie down and die, Whitney fights tooth and nail to develop life-saving technology in a completely uninhabitable wasteland. The runtime explores Whitney’s struggle with survival and develops a theme of staying positive, even in the face of daunting setbacks.
Matt Damon does an incredible job portraying an optimist in a completely hopeless situation. His survivalist determination, as seen in his other works like “Rounders,” shines through in this film. His almost delusional sense of humor throughout the first act, especially when contrasted with the serious personalities of the NASA team on the ground, delivers a phenomenal sense of humor: one I was not expecting when walking into this movie. This positive atmosphere especially improves the second act. When Whitney begins to come to terms with his situation and loses his comedic style, the watcher feels the pressure that Whitney and his crew experience. The tone shift — while perhaps slightly abrupt — creates an interesting and exciting atmosphere in the film.
The atmosphere is only improved from there, as, throughout the film, we see an assembly of beautiful set design. From a stunning Mars backdrop to the technological NASA control rooms, “The Martian” is able to create the extraterrestrial landscape without making the movie feel like it’s drowning in CGI and special effects. In writing the book and in filming, NASA was a source of information as a collaborator on each project, providing the film with an extra layer of scientific realism, often lacking in other sci-fi films. This masterful set work, along with a scrutinous attention to detail, creates an immersive experience throughout the entire film, that is, until the last scene.
Throughout “The Martian,” Ridley Scott makes it extremely clear that the theme of the movie is to persevere through hardship, no matter how dire the situation is. Scott does a great job at portraying this throughout the movie as we watch Whitney fail over and over again, and yet, after every failure, he continues to develop solutions and look for the next step forward; after all, what choice does he have? Scott wonderfully follows the age-old rule of film creation, “show, don’t tell.” That is, until the last scene, where Whitney goes on a rant about how important it is to persevere through difficult times. The scene is wholly unnecessary. I just watched the movie; I don’t need a recap from Matt Damon about the morals I should take from it. The final scene annoyed me to such an extent, it left a bad taste in my mouth leaving the movie: a very disappointing feeling to have after what was overall an excellent film.
The acting and set design would be nothing, however, without the incredible pacing of the film. “The Martian” avoided the common pitfall of filling the sci-fi film to the brim with science jargon just to sound smart. Scott keeps the scenes concise, telling the viewer only what they need to know, and letting the scenes play out, one right into the next. It expertly disguises “exposition dumping” as dialogue between Whitney and the crew or himself, exactly what we would expect from someone stranded on Mars for over two years. “The Martian” can explain a few of the intricacies of physics, botany, and engineering without being boring. Without the brilliant pacing, this movie would be a snoozer.
“The Martian” is a beautiful film, telling a story of determination and hope. The losses are crushing, yet they make the accomplishments that much more fulfilling. An expertly crafted cast, lit behind gorgeous set design, in a perfectly paced plot line, led to an extremely entertaining and well crafted movie.
Final Rating: 3.5/5 – Excellent Film…just please remove that god-awful final scene.
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