"This will come as a complete shock to my crewmates and to NASA and to the entire world, but... I'm still alive. Obviously.... Surprise!"
- Mark Watney (Matt Damon), The Martian
Ridley Scott is a consummate filmmaker, without question. Though it is quite interesting, with as an eclectic career as he has, that he keeps returning to space movies. Alien is the oft-quoted "haunted house in space" movie, Blade Runner has mention of space battles in the closing soliloquy of antagonist Roy Batty and, most recently, Prometheus was the "everything-goes-to-hell" journey of mankind's search for our creators. Certainly, nobody was demanding Scott to return to the subject, but if he did, he'd certainly have to figure another way around it.
Enter computer scientist Andy Weir who, on a whim in 2011, decided to write an one-of-a-kind survival story where an astronaut is accidentally stranded on Mars. The story grew so popular that it quickly became a popular purchase in Amazon.com's e-book section. Drew Goddard, most known as the writer/director of The Cabin in the Woods, adapted Weir's book with the intention of directing for himself. However, various deals with Marvel (most of which fell through; though one gave the world the popular Netflix series "Marvel's Daredevil") required his attentions. Producer Simon Kinberg (also co-writer of Sherlock Holmes and currently one of Disney's new Star Wars gurus) bought the project to Ridley Scott's attention at 20th Century Fox. Scott himself brought the project to an actor he had never worked with before, Matt Damon. Damon was skeptical at first; he had just made Christopher Nolan's Interstellar where he played a stranded astronaut (though of a different attitude). When Damon explained the particulars of the part, Scott assured him that wasn't what he had in mind.
In 2035 (according to author Weir, though never specified in the movie/novel), manned missions to Mars are nothing new. Though the crew of Ares III would have liked more of a heads-up for a massive storm heading their way which forces them to abandon their mission and escape the planet. Led by Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain, in one of two October 2015 film roles), the team makes their way back to their lander in the middle of the storm but along the way some debris knocks away botanist Mark Watney (Damon). With his bio-readings inactive, they have no choice but to accept his death and proceed with the evacuation. Little do they know, Watney has survived and makes his way back to the lab that was set up for the mission. With no way to contact NASA and limited supplies, Watney has to make a life for himself until the next Ares mission. On Earth, scientists at NASA have discovered Watney's survival and gather their best to plot a rescue mission before time runs out.
It's strange to me how all the movies that glorify NASA - Apollo 13, Armageddon, Gravity and now The Martian, all involve Hell breaking loose on whatever mission was strategically planned (though in Michael Bay's case, he just wanted Bruce Willis to blow up an asteroid the size of Texas; poor sweet, freaking beautiful Liv Tyler...). I guess, especially in Gravity and The Martian's case, it's all about celebrating the ability of the individual to think through situations and the durability of the human spirit. What separates The Martian from the films mentioned above is its incredible sense of good humor. Weir's novel was plenty funny, but Goddard turned the 359 page book into a streamlined screenplay that never feels unfaithful to the source material. This does inevitably lose a lot of Mark Watney's more chuckle-inducing dialogue (though I have to applaud the marketing team for the film for giving one of my favorite lines back to Watney in one of the very well-made viral videos), but it moves the story along at the brisk pace necessary for a feature film. Mayhaps a Ridley Scott expanded cut is in order?
The cast - both in space and on Earth - cannot go overlooked. Damon, as Scott predicted, is (pardon the pun) light years away from his unlikable character in Interstellar. He is able to bring the necessary light-heartedness to the film as well as the believability for the technical know-how that his character continually expounds. Jessica Chastain brings a earnestness to Commander Lewis, where you genuinely feel the guilt she has for unknowingly leaving Watney behind which leads her to physically getting him back at the end. It's kinda funny that this movie features three notable Marvel actors: Kate Mara (coming off of the dreadfully received Fantastic Four reboot as Invisible Woman/Susan Storm), Michael Peña (coming off of the wonderfully received Ant-Man as Luis) and Sebastian Stan (best known as The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes from Captain America: The Winter Soldier - ridiculously well-received). The Earth cast, led by Jeff Daniels (who, years ago, was in a different kind of Martian movie) is a lot more serious and low-key. Recent Academy Award winner Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) plays a character who has a bigger part (and a different first name) in the book but again, for the purposes of an ensemble cast, is spread thin. Sean Bean, I'm convinced, is in this film for the sole purpose of a Lord of the Rings connection. Kristen Wiig is in the film, playing a shrill NASA public relations officer and doesn't get much to do. The standout for me is this new girl named Mackenzie Davis playing the meek Mindy Park. I don't know much of her, but I'd like to see her in more stuff; she's on the AMC show "Halt and Catch Fire", a show I don't watch. Donald Glover, a guy who'd kill to be a Marvel actor (he so desperately wants to be Spider-Man but I honestly believe he'd be perfect for The Prowler/Hobie Brown) plays the whiz kid who out-thinks all of NASA in their attempts to bring Watney home. He gets a standout scene and then pretty much disappears from the rest of the movie.
One of the standout features of the movie is its soundtrack. In both the novel and the movie, Mark Watney makes no reservations about his utter hatred of disco being the only source of music available in what the Ares III team left behind. While the book mentions probably the most famous disco song ever written, "Stayin' Alive", the movie features (among others) "Turn the Beat Around" by Vickie Sue Robinson, "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation, "Waterloo" by ABBA, "Love Train" by The O'Jays (in the Epilogue) and "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (in the end credits). However, Watney and I share the same favorite song in the film, "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer (described as the "least disco" of the bunch) and even Watney can't help grooving along with the beat.
After misfires like The Counselor and Exodus: Gods and Kings, Ridley Scott finally gets a crowdpleasing sci-fi movie that will catapult him back in the good graces of pop culture. The Martian has one talented cast and a smart, engaging script that will no doubt get some awards recognition. It's fair to say the long-running curse of "Mars" movies has finally been broken.
Ridley Scott is a consummate filmmaker, without question. Though it is quite interesting, with as an eclectic career as he has, that he keeps returning to space movies. Alien is the oft-quoted "haunted house in space" movie, Blade Runner has mention of space battles in the closing soliloquy of antagonist Roy Batty and, most recently, Prometheus was the "everything-goes-to-hell" journey of mankind's search for our creators. Certainly, nobody was demanding Scott to return to the subject, but if he did, he'd certainly have to figure another way around it.
Enter computer scientist Andy Weir who, on a whim in 2011, decided to write an one-of-a-kind survival story where an astronaut is accidentally stranded on Mars. The story grew so popular that it quickly became a popular purchase in Amazon.com's e-book section. Drew Goddard, most known as the writer/director of The Cabin in the Woods, adapted Weir's book with the intention of directing for himself. However, various deals with Marvel (most of which fell through; though one gave the world the popular Netflix series "Marvel's Daredevil") required his attentions. Producer Simon Kinberg (also co-writer of Sherlock Holmes and currently one of Disney's new Star Wars gurus) bought the project to Ridley Scott's attention at 20th Century Fox. Scott himself brought the project to an actor he had never worked with before, Matt Damon. Damon was skeptical at first; he had just made Christopher Nolan's Interstellar where he played a stranded astronaut (though of a different attitude). When Damon explained the particulars of the part, Scott assured him that wasn't what he had in mind.
In 2035 (according to author Weir, though never specified in the movie/novel), manned missions to Mars are nothing new. Though the crew of Ares III would have liked more of a heads-up for a massive storm heading their way which forces them to abandon their mission and escape the planet. Led by Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain, in one of two October 2015 film roles), the team makes their way back to their lander in the middle of the storm but along the way some debris knocks away botanist Mark Watney (Damon). With his bio-readings inactive, they have no choice but to accept his death and proceed with the evacuation. Little do they know, Watney has survived and makes his way back to the lab that was set up for the mission. With no way to contact NASA and limited supplies, Watney has to make a life for himself until the next Ares mission. On Earth, scientists at NASA have discovered Watney's survival and gather their best to plot a rescue mission before time runs out.
It's strange to me how all the movies that glorify NASA - Apollo 13, Armageddon, Gravity and now The Martian, all involve Hell breaking loose on whatever mission was strategically planned (though in Michael Bay's case, he just wanted Bruce Willis to blow up an asteroid the size of Texas; poor sweet, freaking beautiful Liv Tyler...). I guess, especially in Gravity and The Martian's case, it's all about celebrating the ability of the individual to think through situations and the durability of the human spirit. What separates The Martian from the films mentioned above is its incredible sense of good humor. Weir's novel was plenty funny, but Goddard turned the 359 page book into a streamlined screenplay that never feels unfaithful to the source material. This does inevitably lose a lot of Mark Watney's more chuckle-inducing dialogue (though I have to applaud the marketing team for the film for giving one of my favorite lines back to Watney in one of the very well-made viral videos), but it moves the story along at the brisk pace necessary for a feature film. Mayhaps a Ridley Scott expanded cut is in order?
The cast - both in space and on Earth - cannot go overlooked. Damon, as Scott predicted, is (pardon the pun) light years away from his unlikable character in Interstellar. He is able to bring the necessary light-heartedness to the film as well as the believability for the technical know-how that his character continually expounds. Jessica Chastain brings a earnestness to Commander Lewis, where you genuinely feel the guilt she has for unknowingly leaving Watney behind which leads her to physically getting him back at the end. It's kinda funny that this movie features three notable Marvel actors: Kate Mara (coming off of the dreadfully received Fantastic Four reboot as Invisible Woman/Susan Storm), Michael Peña (coming off of the wonderfully received Ant-Man as Luis) and Sebastian Stan (best known as The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes from Captain America: The Winter Soldier - ridiculously well-received). The Earth cast, led by Jeff Daniels (who, years ago, was in a different kind of Martian movie) is a lot more serious and low-key. Recent Academy Award winner Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) plays a character who has a bigger part (and a different first name) in the book but again, for the purposes of an ensemble cast, is spread thin. Sean Bean, I'm convinced, is in this film for the sole purpose of a Lord of the Rings connection. Kristen Wiig is in the film, playing a shrill NASA public relations officer and doesn't get much to do. The standout for me is this new girl named Mackenzie Davis playing the meek Mindy Park. I don't know much of her, but I'd like to see her in more stuff; she's on the AMC show "Halt and Catch Fire", a show I don't watch. Donald Glover, a guy who'd kill to be a Marvel actor (he so desperately wants to be Spider-Man but I honestly believe he'd be perfect for The Prowler/Hobie Brown) plays the whiz kid who out-thinks all of NASA in their attempts to bring Watney home. He gets a standout scene and then pretty much disappears from the rest of the movie.
One of the standout features of the movie is its soundtrack. In both the novel and the movie, Mark Watney makes no reservations about his utter hatred of disco being the only source of music available in what the Ares III team left behind. While the book mentions probably the most famous disco song ever written, "Stayin' Alive", the movie features (among others) "Turn the Beat Around" by Vickie Sue Robinson, "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation, "Waterloo" by ABBA, "Love Train" by The O'Jays (in the Epilogue) and "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (in the end credits). However, Watney and I share the same favorite song in the film, "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer (described as the "least disco" of the bunch) and even Watney can't help grooving along with the beat.
After misfires like The Counselor and Exodus: Gods and Kings, Ridley Scott finally gets a crowdpleasing sci-fi movie that will catapult him back in the good graces of pop culture. The Martian has one talented cast and a smart, engaging script that will no doubt get some awards recognition. It's fair to say the long-running curse of "Mars" movies has finally been broken.
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