The Martian is an amazing movie that is carried more than anything else by the protagonist and the suspense the film constantly creates.
Matt Damon was undeniably the perfect cast for this role. I cannot think of many actors that could make spending an hour and a half with a single, isolated person so god damn enjoyable. This is made possible with what surely must be a mix of the wonderful character of Mark Watney and the perfect execution by Damon. Mark is a capable, intelligent botanist that is faced with a situation so dire that most of us would probably collapse in despair. Instead, Mark lightens up with his never-ending optimism and lightheartedness. As he explained to his students at the very end, when thinking that you will most likely die, you can either accept it and work on a solution or fail. It is so satisfying to see him immediately work towards a more than clever solution, make the absolute most of his situation and document all of it by joking around on the video logs, giving us a unique look into his daily life as the most isolated human in this universe. Not only is it fantastic by its own, it also gives the film an unusual permission for exposition dumps, since it is very much believable that he would talk to himself and the camera, leaving behind a legacy, even if he dies, to keep himself sane. His reactions are nothing you would expect when hearing about the (great) premise of this movie. Nevertheless, they are never unbelievable. He is not a one-dimensional character, we see months and years of his work crumble before him and he reacts properly, he is frustrated, has fits of rage, but also jests and dances and laughs and all put together make a very enjoyable 2 hours.
As a result of this, the comedy in this movie is outstanding. Even though it is very much an intense, gritty movie with a lot of weight to it, you will end up laughing aloud at your screen or at the very least smile at the silliness in an otherwise very desperate situation. So, yes, this movie focuses mostly on one character and so naturally the supporting cast has to suffer under it, right? Yes, but that doesn't take away anything from the movie. Each person has distinct traits and even though we see very little of them, you'll grow to love most of them, simply because they seem to have such a complex dynamic off-screen. This is also helped by the fact that even for the most minor roles they use an all-star, talented cast.
Now, onto the atmosphere. Ridley Scott does know how to make wonderful establishing shots, but more than that it's the scenery that makes the feeling of this film. The technology, the clothes, the spaceships, the tools, it all looks like it could be a true story, happening in just a decade from now. Due to this, it has weight to it that not many science fiction movies can accomplish. I believe this kind is called "hard science-fiction" and The Martian definitely falls under that category. It feels as if the science behind it all drives the plot forward, as problems arise from the limits of the near-future technology and it's Mark's understanding of basic science that enables him to survive, not some plot holes or ex-machinas. From the beginning to the very end the audience believes that everything can and will go wrong, we feel with the character's overwhelming joy of his achievements and the subsequent loss of everything, which leads to a constant feeling of danger and unpredictability. The often unassuming shots, such as during the night in the primitively patched up base of operations and the docking scene on the space station, in both of which nothing bad happens, add a lot to that.
So, all in all, even though the collaboration with NASA may have lead to too much time spent on Earth, as theorized by Chris Stuckmann, it added a whole new layer to the film. It is noticeable that the writers and the filming crew sent hundreds of questions to NASA, made hundreds of photos and, to be frank, I don't mind that this benefits NASA in popularizing space travel.
Review by BolloggBlockedParentSpoilers2018-08-18T20:27:47Z— updated 2018-08-22T12:13:41Z
The Martian is an amazing movie that is carried more than anything else by the protagonist and the suspense the film constantly creates.
Matt Damon was undeniably the perfect cast for this role. I cannot think of many actors that could make spending an hour and a half with a single, isolated person so god damn enjoyable. This is made possible with what surely must be a mix of the wonderful character of Mark Watney and the perfect execution by Damon. Mark is a capable, intelligent botanist that is faced with a situation so dire that most of us would probably collapse in despair. Instead, Mark lightens up with his never-ending optimism and lightheartedness. As he explained to his students at the very end, when thinking that you will most likely die, you can either accept it and work on a solution or fail. It is so satisfying to see him immediately work towards a more than clever solution, make the absolute most of his situation and document all of it by joking around on the video logs, giving us a unique look into his daily life as the most isolated human in this universe. Not only is it fantastic by its own, it also gives the film an unusual permission for exposition dumps, since it is very much believable that he would talk to himself and the camera, leaving behind a legacy, even if he dies, to keep himself sane. His reactions are nothing you would expect when hearing about the (great) premise of this movie. Nevertheless, they are never unbelievable. He is not a one-dimensional character, we see months and years of his work crumble before him and he reacts properly, he is frustrated, has fits of rage, but also jests and dances and laughs and all put together make a very enjoyable 2 hours.
As a result of this, the comedy in this movie is outstanding. Even though it is very much an intense, gritty movie with a lot of weight to it, you will end up laughing aloud at your screen or at the very least smile at the silliness in an otherwise very desperate situation. So, yes, this movie focuses mostly on one character and so naturally the supporting cast has to suffer under it, right? Yes, but that doesn't take away anything from the movie. Each person has distinct traits and even though we see very little of them, you'll grow to love most of them, simply because they seem to have such a complex dynamic off-screen. This is also helped by the fact that even for the most minor roles they use an all-star, talented cast.
Now, onto the atmosphere. Ridley Scott does know how to make wonderful establishing shots, but more than that it's the scenery that makes the feeling of this film. The technology, the clothes, the spaceships, the tools, it all looks like it could be a true story, happening in just a decade from now. Due to this, it has weight to it that not many science fiction movies can accomplish. I believe this kind is called "hard science-fiction" and The Martian definitely falls under that category. It feels as if the science behind it all drives the plot forward, as problems arise from the limits of the near-future technology and it's Mark's understanding of basic science that enables him to survive, not some plot holes or ex-machinas. From the beginning to the very end the audience believes that everything can and will go wrong, we feel with the character's overwhelming joy of his achievements and the subsequent loss of everything, which leads to a constant feeling of danger and unpredictability. The often unassuming shots, such as during the night in the primitively patched up base of operations and the docking scene on the space station, in both of which nothing bad happens, add a lot to that.
So, all in all, even though the collaboration with NASA may have lead to too much time spent on Earth, as theorized by Chris Stuckmann, it added a whole new layer to the film. It is noticeable that the writers and the filming crew sent hundreds of questions to NASA, made hundreds of photos and, to be frank, I don't mind that this benefits NASA in popularizing space travel.