Writers: Drew Goddard (screenplay), Andy Weir (book)
Stars: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig
Storyline:
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is
presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has
survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only
meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and
find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA
and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the
Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible,
rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes
together to root for Watney's safe return. Based on a best-selling novel.
Details:
Official Sites: Official Facebook | Official Site
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 2 October 2015 (USA)
Also Known As: Misión Rescate
Filming Locations: Hungary
The Martian Reviews:
The Martian is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Matt Damon
as Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded on Mars after being presumed dead when a
dust storm forces his crew to evacuate their base without him. Watney must find
a way to contact NASA while also surviving on a planet without food or water.
This movie does not waste time getting started, and quickly
sets the plot in motion by forcing the crew to evacuate and stranding Watney on
Mars. Aside from one or two large time jumps, the film's pacing was solid and
kept the plot moving while never overwhelming the viewer. For a survival movie,
it had a rather sparse amount of the thrills, however those it did provide were
unpredictable and truly felt consequential, each one radically altering Watney's
situation.
The film's script inherits the books humorous and snarky
dialogue, and manages to balance it with the perils of Watney's situation
perfectly. Watney provides comic relief and often makes light of his dire
situation, however through Matt Damon's performance and a sharp script, the
humor never clashes with the film's survivalist tone.
Speaking of Matt Damon, he proves massively watchable as
Mark Watney, and even gives a surprisingly committed performance as his body
begins to suffer from his food rationing. He delivers the dialogue well, and I
feel in the hands of a lesser actor a lot of the snarky writing would have come
off as awkward or out of place. While I would not say his performance goes as
far as Sandra Bullock in Gravity, another one-person space survival, it is
nonetheless solid and at times quite impressive.
The Martian also inherits it's source materials strong
dedication to scientific accuracy, and definitely qualifies as a "Hard"
sci-fi movie. The science-based story unfortunately does lead to quite a bit of
technobabble between NASA and the other astronauts, which while sometimes a
little off putting is still simple enough to not disrupt the film in any
significant way.
From what I've said, the movie probably seems quite good. And
that's the problem. The Martian is just that; quite good. It lacks the
technical ambition of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity or the emotional resonance of
Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and never quite rises from "good" to
"fantastic". Aside from the final sequence, the movie doesn't provide
much emotional connection to the characters. While it can be frustrating to see
the setbacks Watney constantly faces, the film doesn't really bother to invest
you enough to have true empathy for him or the rest of his crew.
The plot also at times does become a bit crowded, especially
around two-thirds into the movie. Between Watney, his crew, NASA, and the other
characters, it does become difficult to keep up.
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