The Martian (2015)
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.
Director:
Ridley ScottWriters:
Drew Goddard (screenplay), Andy Weir (book)Stars:
Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen WiigStoryline
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.
18 Sols have passed since Mark Watney (Matt Damon) stapled his wound after the storm and his crew's departure. He has calculated his rations, improvised on the limited resources and come up with an survival plan that involves generation of water and cultivation of potatoes - on Mars. Soon enough, the scientists at NASA notice movements around Mark's station through images and reach out to him through the Pathfinder's camera. As the communication links are established, plans are set in motion to rescue Mark even though its execution will challenge several development and launch teams on Earth and himself physically and mentally to survive up to 4 more years. The scientific ideas are comprehensible, making Mark's improvisations with his resources all the more credible. It isn't just about his existence in an inhospitable environment but about pushing one's capabilities and resources to the utmost levels in order to prolong survival. Rescue being an uncertain number of months away, Mark has to keep recalculating provisions while maintaining the constant, entertaining communication. Those lighter moments in such trying times are what make The Martian such a good film compared to the darkness in Prometheus. Time, in essence, is the only villain in this story.
Jessica Chastain plays Captain Lewis, who struggles to get to terms with her decision to abort the mission. She convincingly portrays the compassion for her crew and audacity when she must alter the mission itself. Michael Pena's comic timing is always an asset in a film and as Martinez, he keeps things light and relatable. Kate Mara and the rest of the crew members do an adequate job while some of the stronger performances are by actors back on Earth, including Jeff Daniels as NASA's overly cautious director Sanders, Benedict Wong as the director of JPL who leads a team that is tasked with achieving the impossible, Sean Bean as Mitch who heads the mission with complete dedication to the safety of the crew and of course, Chiwetel Ejiofor's Vincent Kapoor, the engineer whose diligent efforts in tracking Watney led to the agency's serious consideration for launching a rescue mission. His, is perhaps the best performance among the supporting cast. As Watney explains to us, although he is just addressing the camera for recording purposes, the math behind supplies rationing, potato cultivation or simply, the odds of his survival with every changing circumstance, we are completely engaged in his efforts and genuinely want him off the red planet. As an expert botanist whose wit comes in handy in most of the scientific applications on Mars, Matt Damon delivers his most compelling performance that makes science and engineering more entertaining. That is precisely where The Martian succeeds.
The film's ability to convey the scientific and human challenges while being stranded on Mars, but with easy understanding and witty humor that keeps the grip on the audience while they witness a miraculous rescue attempt that is planned and executed to a meticulous degree. Against the backdrop of disco music, Watney gently trudges along the Martian landscape in his rover as the engineers at NASA refer to his rescue mission as Elrond. The nerd quotient here is at a sublime level that doesn't overpower the narrative. The cinematography and visual effects simply make Jordan look more credible as the surface of Mars while the sfx in space are refined enough for certain thrilling scenes. Technically, Ridley Scott has abstained for over-burdening the entertaining narrative with unnecessary special effects. He relies heavily upon Drew Goddard's screenplay of Weir's book and on Matt Damon, whom America has repeatedly sent on missions only to lose him. The Martian is a complete exercise on problem solving. You solve one and another one surfaces. You solve that and there's a new one. Up until you solve enough to just stay alive. A rescue is only a fool's hope or a miracle. In Matt Damon's case, we'd rather keep sending him to faraway places just so we can watch him being rescued again.