Running Time. 2 hours 24 mins
Director. Ridley Scott
Cast. Sean Bean, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Mackenzie Davis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, Aksel Hennie, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Sebastian Stan, Kristen Wiig, Benedict Wong.
Rating. 87%
Adapted from Andy Weir's best-selling novel, The Martian is a testament to human brilliance, ingenuity and intelligence. A celebration of one man's will to survive against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Once astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) wakes and realises that his crew has left him for dead, and he is indeed the lone lifeform on the surface of Mars, he stoically sets out to find a way to survive in this most hostile of environments - "I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this." In the face of this desperate scenario, Watney faces almost certain starvation, yet comes up with an ingenious plan to cultivate crops. If he is able to survive, without any apparent means of communication, Watney faces years of solitude. Yet, Matt Damon portrays Watney as an affable, easy-going optimist. There is a genuine humanity to his stoicism, almost as if the humour and relentless positivity is a coping mechanism for the dire predicament he finds himself in.
Director Ridley Scott could have easily concentrated on Mark Watney's character development, but instead the director invests in the supporting characters to ensure that the action on Earth is every bit as compelling as Watney's ongoing survival attempt on Mars. These set-pieces in offices, laboratories, workshops, control rooms and press briefings are a celebration of science. Scenes that demonstrate reasoning and logical deduction can be used to solve any problem.
The Martian is a Ridley Scott film - it is guaranteed to look good. And whilst Ridley Scott may no longer be the lone avant garde pioneer of films such as Alien and Blade Runner [others have embraced his ideas, methods and style], science fiction with impressive visuals is in his DNA. Whilst much of the genre features dreary dystopian cities (Blade Runner), or the dark, cold emptiness of space (Gravity), The Martian looks completely different. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski fills the screen with epic vistas of the barren landscape, featuring a restricted colour palette of red, orange and burnt sienna. There are visual echoes of Prometheus, Dariusz Wolski worked on both films; and Ridley Scott also brought back production designer, Arthur Max and costume designer, Janty Yates to work on The Martian.
Whilst The Martian may lack the visceral terror of Alien, the acute tension of Gravity, or the existential boldness of Interstellar, The Martian abounds with warmth, charm and intellect. An exhilarating film.
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