“The Martian” is directed by Ridley Scott and it stars Matt
Damon. This review contains spoilers so if you haven’t seen the film, go watch
it before watching this review.
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 few supplies but a lot of wit he
must find a way to contact Earth and survive.
The
film starts off very impressively. The opening sequence is very good and gets
you right into the action without wasting time with pointless exposition or
setup. Watney’s crew assumes he’s dead after he’s hit by debris in the violent
storm and take off without him. Not even 10mns into the film and Matt Damon’s
Watney is already alone in Mars. So begins this character’s long journey to
survival. The following scenes work very well. We see Watney mending his wound,
a great scene by the way. He then comes to the obvious conclusion that he needs
to figure out a way to get more food or he will die before anyone can come
rescue. As Watney says himself, luckily he’s a botanist so he figures out a way
to farm potatoes using… well, his own shit basically. He also devises a way to
get water, which actually results in a funny scene on which he blows himself
up.
This
is roughly the first half hour of “The Martian”. Matt Damon delivering
exposition via video logs and moving the plot along and I quote “sciencing the
shit out things”. When he eventually manages to contact earth by finding the
old Mars Rover from the 90s we now start having the parallel of Earth and Mars
more frequently. NASA trying to figure out ways to help and Watney back on Mars
also solving problem after problem. So with a few setbacks here and there the
rescue obviously succeeds and Mark Watney is safe.
The
best thing, by far, about “The Martian” is Matt Damon. He carries the film on
his back with a fantastic performance which otherwise would have resulted in a
terrible film. Watney is likable from the second we meet him and the video logs
he keeps making to deliver exposition work very well. Matt Damon does wonders
with what he has to work with. But I have to be honest. I love Matt Damon’s
work in pretty much everything he’s ever been in.
The
rest of the cast is luxurious to say the least. Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels,
Sean Bean. The list goes on. “The Martian” has a great supporting cast.
Ridley
Scott delivers once again a beautiful film. As he always does. His movies are
always so beautifully photographed and with great compositions. His
relationship with his actors seems to be in great form as well. As I mentioned
the performances are extremely solid. It’s easily one of Ridley Scott’s best
films in recent years. “The Counselor” and “Exodus” weren’t exactly great
achievements.
With
all that said I find myself in disagreement with many people when they put this
film on a pedestal. I think “The Martian” is a very problematic film. Both
times I watched it I thought the same thing. So much science but so little
emotion. Many reviews I read and heard praised the scientific accuracy of the
film and the genius of Watney’s endeavors. I question the whole entire final
set piece when Watney “ironmans’ his way to safety while orbiting Mars but hey
I could be wrong. It could be extremely accurate and possible for all I know.
But that’s besides the point. No matter how accurate the film is or not isn’t
really the issue for me. The problem is that it only seems to care about that. Scientific
accuracy. Math problems, calculations and estimates. The film is constantly
solving problems both on Earth and Mars. So much so that it forgets everything
else. All the characters are a bit two dimensional with the exception of Mark
Watney. The film never truly connects emotionally even when it’s supposed to
like at the end. And I don’t think the problem is predictability or execution.
The
problem is a huge elephant in the room. This character’s emotional and
psychological journey isn’t really believable for me. That’s why I said before.
So much science but so little emotion. I was always waiting for a true dark
moment in Watney’s journey. And not the result of a practical problem. There is
plenty of that in the film already. But dealing with all the loneliness for
instance. The very real possibility of facing death. An extremely long period
of time deprived of numerous basic human necessities as the social animal we
are. Logical psychological issues that would naturally surface in a situation
like this. The film only scratches the surface of these issues and prefers to
focus on its geekier side. At one point there is a 7 month ellipsis in the film
and sure enough we see a skinnier Matt Damon but not much more. And for me that
is the biggest problem I have with “The Martian”. That and seeing part of the Martin habitat
blow up seconds after Jeff Daniel’s character says something like: “Let’s hope
nothing goes wrong”.
Similar
films balance the science and, let’s call it, emotion very well. “Apollo 13”, “Gravity”
and I’m sure a few more I cannot remember right now. These films focus heavily
on their protagonists’ inner journey without alienating the scientific and
interesting means that lead the hero or heroes to a happy ending. “The Martian”
insists so much on its science that it becomes boring at times. Not because the
science isn’t it interesting but because I’m note watching a documentary about
Mars, I’m watching a film about an astronaut struggling to survive millions of
miles away from home and all of what that entails. For instance, one of the
biggest strengths a film like “Cast Away” has is the credibility of the journey
that the character goes through. When the ellipsis occurs in that film and Tom
Hanks is skinny as hell, after 4 years alone in an island, you feel the impact
time has had on that character. Both physically and mentally. “The Martian”
crashes and burns in that department. I struggle to relate with Watney beyond
the face value of the scenes and the charisma Matt Damon brings to the table.
Actually I can say that about the entire film. It seems emotionally shallow too
often for my own liking.
I
salute its scientific accuracy and the wonderful achievement it is in that
department. All the things Watney does are truly impressive. A good guy to have
around in a situation like that for sure.
“The
Martian” is still a film I recommend watching even with all the issues I have
with it. Matt Damon is a delight to watch and Ridley Scott is a great director
even when he butchers scripts. Something he tends to do sometimes. The film is
visually breathtaking and you truly believe you are in Mars. It’s very
immersive. If you ignore the 2 dimensional crap back on earth you’ll have an
even better time with “The Martian”.
To
sum it up the film is a missed opportunity and it could have been something a
lot better and deeper than what we ended up with. I haven’t read the book the
film was based on, but those who have, say the film is very true to the book.
It’s safe to say that staying true to the source material may not always be the
best option considering books and movies are two very different mediums. In
this case and I say again, too much science and so little emotion.
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