Photo courtesy Fox Movies
By Vincent Guarino
The last few years have not been the best for Sir Ridley Scott. His last two directing efforts were met with mixed responses from audiences (2012’s Prometheus and 2014’s Exodus: Gods & Kings) and while I was a fan of Prometheus, I understand why some people have started to have their doubts when it comes to a new Ridley Scott film.
Scott’s latest film, The Martian, is based off Andy Weir’s best selling novel of the same name and stars Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting). Damon plays a botanist/astronaut named Mark Watney, who goes on a mission to Mars with a group of fellow astronauts, played by Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Michael Peña (End of Watch), Kate Mara (Fantastic Four), Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Askel Hennie (Hercules).
After a fierce storm prompts the crew to make an emergency exit off the planet, Watney is presumed dead by his crew and is left on Mars. Well it turns out that Mark Watney did not die during the storm and he has been abandoned on the planet Mars.
The Martian is about Watney’s will to survive, but also the people of NASA and his crews’ efforts to bring him home.
You have Ridley Scott at the helm, a script written by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), a cast that has the people that were mentioned before, but also Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and Donald Glover (Community, but some might know him as Chidlish Gambino). Does The Martian live up to this hype?
Yes. The Martian is one of those rare movies that is able to exceed the hype that is around it and then some. I loved The Martian from start to finish.
There is a lot to love about The Martian, but the first thing that needs to be spoken about is the incredible performance Matt Damon gives in this film. For a large majority of the film, he is by himself and he is able to act off of himself beautifully. It is a performance that is full of emotion, that really should be considered by Academy voters come the end of the year.
Damon’s performance is not only one that shines in the film. Chiwetel Ejiofor is one of the todays most underrated actors, in my opinion, and is great as Vincent Kapoor, a hardworking engineer who works for NASA. He shares a large portion of his screen time with Jeff Daniels and Kristen Wiig, who both give great performances as well.
With such a big cast, you would think that some characters might get forgotten about, but Goddard’s script is so tight and well-thought out that every character has their shining moment. Even Donald Glover, who has a small role in the film has two standout moments. He steals every scene he is in.
It is also a really funny film. I found myself laughing really hard a few times throughout the film. It’s humor is what separates it from recent films of this genre, like Interstellar and Gravity. People keep comparing The Martian to those two films, but to me it has so much more optimism than those two films.
One of the most surprising things about The Martian is its soundtrack. The only music available to Mark while he is on Mars, are disco songs from the 1970’s that Jessica Chastain’s character left behind, so you get to hear a lot of very popular songs from that era in this film. I was shocked that I was actually hearing these songs in a science-fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, but it works.
Visually the film is absolutely stunning. Scott chose to shoot a lot of the scenes that take place on Mars in the country of Jordan and it makes all the difference. I am a big endorser of shooting on location because it just makes a film feel that much more real.
The film runs at 2 hours and 21 minutes, but feels like it is only 90. The pacing is just so well done. It is not rushing through things, but it is not overstaying its welcome. The film is moving right from its start all and doesn’t let you go until a little bit into the end credits (Stick around for a little montage during the credits).
The Martian is an incredible experience, that shows that not all big science-fiction films this decade have to take themselves so seriously and can’t have any fun. It is full of amazing performances, stunning visuals, and a story that will have you engaged from the moment you lay eyes on the screen. Ridley Scott is now 77 years old and he just made a film so full of life and joy, that most 25 year old filmmakers could not make. Hats off to Sir Ridley Scott and co. for making a big science-fiction film that dares to be funny and fun.
