The Martian (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
A team of NASA astronauts are gathering soil samples on Mars when a colossal dust storm sends them running for their spaceship in 'The Martian', a suspenseful space saga directed by the great Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Prometheus). Commander Lewis (Jessica Chastain) orders a hasty evacuation, believing that their crewmate, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) has been killed by flying metal debris. With their ship about to blow over, the downhearted team (including Chastain, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, & Aksel Hennie) blasts off, abandoning their Mars base & heading back to Earth. When NASA gets wind of this, director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) & Mars mission controller Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) deliver the news of Mark's death to the public.
Meanwhile, 50,000,000 miles away, Mark wakes up to find himself ... alone. After satellite photography reveals that he is alive, it's up to NASA director Sanders & his science cohorts to figure out ways to help Mark stay alive in the habitat module & rescue him before food supply runs out. With no way to communicate to Earth, Mark - a resourceful botanist - must brainstorm ways to ration/grow food (combining his own waste & Martian soil to grow potatoes), improvise ways to make water {almost blowing himself up in the process}, remove shrapnel lodged in his abdomen {WHAT a scene!}, and come to terms with the enormity of his grim situation. Before long, he finds a way to communicate with NASA by using meager supplies & parts of a Rover left from a prior mission; Mark cheekily declares, "I'm gonna have to science the sh*t out of this". From here, it will take all of NASA & the world's greatest minds (Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Benedict Wong, Kristen Wiig, the China's space program, et al) to collaborate & find a way to bring Mark home before his provisions run out ... but there are always unforeseen catastrophes.
I enjoyed ‘The Martian’ immensely and, Matt Damon's winning combination of gravitas, charm, & self-deprecating humor make this smart, action-packed adaptation a near-perfect movie. Original in its particulars, 'The Martian' still reminded me of other greats such as Apollo 13, Cast Away, & Gravity. Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Damon must portray someone left for dead who must work hard every day to ensure that he won't die. Like Apollo 13, we see how the grounds teams at NASA work non-stop to come up with solutions to bring someone home from outer space. And like Gravity, there are dizzying special-effect driven sections, tense parts, & suspense - in that - you don't quite know what will happen/if Mark & the rescue team will make it. But as mentioned, 'The Martian' stands apart from those 3 thanks to the fascinating plot, some stellar direction from Ridley Scott, & the able performances.
The acting ensemble here is solid as a rock. I was moved by Jessica Chastain's regret-laden spaceship commander who is instrumental in the daring rescue mission. Chiwetel Ejiofor is excellent as the mission director. Jeff Daniels impresses as the cautious NASA chief. Kristen Wiig entertains as a put-upon NASA PR director. And Sean Bean lends verisimilitude as the bold flight director. But really folks, this is Matt Damon's show. Undergoing feelings of anguish, fear, loneliness, joy, & desperation ... we're with Mark every step of the way (when he ever-so-slightly despairs, we despair; when he's hopeful, we're hopeful). One way that Mark stays motivated is by keeping a daily video recording of his projects, obstacles & emotions. And in one of the film's copious moments of levity (showcasing Damon's humor), we see him grooving to Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" inside the Rover while figuring out a way to keep warm at night; just a little plutonium at his side, haha.
Without detracting from the super-seriousness of the plot, Ridley Scott infuses this film with aforementioned moments of low-key comedy. Mark's video entries show his wry sense of humor. Similarly, some of the Earth scenes are played with a lighthearted sensibility {thanks to Kristen Wiig & Sean Bean ... with a Lord of the Rings reference in tow}. I also admire its authenticity. Yes, there are expository 'science-y' stretches, but with NASA's blessing of the script, it's nice to see an accurate depiction of space travel. You know, this is one of those rare big-budget flicks that has it all (suspense, performances, humor, heart). It's an enthralling space adventure, but also an introspective tale about one survivor who must overcome challenges both physical & psychological. 'The Martian' should inspire enthusiasm for space travel. It affirms human ingenuity. It makes you feel good as you're exiting the theater. And my #1 lesson learned: it's really cool to be smart, people.
Meanwhile, 50,000,000 miles away, Mark wakes up to find himself ... alone. After satellite photography reveals that he is alive, it's up to NASA director Sanders & his science cohorts to figure out ways to help Mark stay alive in the habitat module & rescue him before food supply runs out. With no way to communicate to Earth, Mark - a resourceful botanist - must brainstorm ways to ration/grow food (combining his own waste & Martian soil to grow potatoes), improvise ways to make water {almost blowing himself up in the process}, remove shrapnel lodged in his abdomen {WHAT a scene!}, and come to terms with the enormity of his grim situation. Before long, he finds a way to communicate with NASA by using meager supplies & parts of a Rover left from a prior mission; Mark cheekily declares, "I'm gonna have to science the sh*t out of this". From here, it will take all of NASA & the world's greatest minds (Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Benedict Wong, Kristen Wiig, the China's space program, et al) to collaborate & find a way to bring Mark home before his provisions run out ... but there are always unforeseen catastrophes.
I enjoyed ‘The Martian’ immensely and, Matt Damon's winning combination of gravitas, charm, & self-deprecating humor make this smart, action-packed adaptation a near-perfect movie. Original in its particulars, 'The Martian' still reminded me of other greats such as Apollo 13, Cast Away, & Gravity. Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Damon must portray someone left for dead who must work hard every day to ensure that he won't die. Like Apollo 13, we see how the grounds teams at NASA work non-stop to come up with solutions to bring someone home from outer space. And like Gravity, there are dizzying special-effect driven sections, tense parts, & suspense - in that - you don't quite know what will happen/if Mark & the rescue team will make it. But as mentioned, 'The Martian' stands apart from those 3 thanks to the fascinating plot, some stellar direction from Ridley Scott, & the able performances.
The acting ensemble here is solid as a rock. I was moved by Jessica Chastain's regret-laden spaceship commander who is instrumental in the daring rescue mission. Chiwetel Ejiofor is excellent as the mission director. Jeff Daniels impresses as the cautious NASA chief. Kristen Wiig entertains as a put-upon NASA PR director. And Sean Bean lends verisimilitude as the bold flight director. But really folks, this is Matt Damon's show. Undergoing feelings of anguish, fear, loneliness, joy, & desperation ... we're with Mark every step of the way (when he ever-so-slightly despairs, we despair; when he's hopeful, we're hopeful). One way that Mark stays motivated is by keeping a daily video recording of his projects, obstacles & emotions. And in one of the film's copious moments of levity (showcasing Damon's humor), we see him grooving to Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" inside the Rover while figuring out a way to keep warm at night; just a little plutonium at his side, haha.
Without detracting from the super-seriousness of the plot, Ridley Scott infuses this film with aforementioned moments of low-key comedy. Mark's video entries show his wry sense of humor. Similarly, some of the Earth scenes are played with a lighthearted sensibility {thanks to Kristen Wiig & Sean Bean ... with a Lord of the Rings reference in tow}. I also admire its authenticity. Yes, there are expository 'science-y' stretches, but with NASA's blessing of the script, it's nice to see an accurate depiction of space travel. You know, this is one of those rare big-budget flicks that has it all (suspense, performances, humor, heart). It's an enthralling space adventure, but also an introspective tale about one survivor who must overcome challenges both physical & psychological. 'The Martian' should inspire enthusiasm for space travel. It affirms human ingenuity. It makes you feel good as you're exiting the theater. And my #1 lesson learned: it's really cool to be smart, people.