When bad weather descends on Mars, causing a manned mission to rapidly evacuate; astronaut and botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left stranded. Watney, The Martian as he is left to survive, Robinson Crusoe style, whilst NASA works out how to bring him home.
Ridley Scotts adaption of Andy Weir’s novel The Martian, could be described as, the love child of Ron Howard’s 1995 blockbuster Apollo 13 and 1971’s Silent Running. This description however is far from a criticism. The Martian confidently keeps a delicate balance; ensuring the science is realistic and believable, whilst avoiding a decent into geekdom and allowing the delicately adapted screenplay to playfully tell the Robinson Crusoe-esque story of a man on a quest quite simply not to die.
The cast is wonderful: Matt Damon plays the role of the stranded astronaut great charm and humour. Jeff Daniels as NASA director leads a strong earth bound supporting cast trying to navigate moral and technical problem they face of having a stranded astronaut with great believability and humanity.
Matt Damon’s Watney works through the problems of how to grow enough food for 4 years on a planet with zero life and create water from thin air and the clever use of a video diary refreshingly avoids a tedious voice-over which can plaque films with a solo protagonist. The on earth sections owe a debt to Apollo 13 with NASA scientists problem solving and the final act brings you back to the excitement of that old fashioned type of Sci-fi thriller which are sadly now few and far between.
It is film that I would have happily walked straight back into again as I left the cinema. As I said earlier it felt very much like modern homage to Silent Running (a film I have fond memories of) however, I do feel a little guilty calling it Sci-Fi, as it almost seemed too real.
Matt Damon’s performance is full humour and whimsy, and there is humanity in the NASA science guys back and the whole film bounces along to a great 1970’s disco soundtrack, which is just as fantastically juxtapositioned as it was in Guardians of the Galaxy.
I cannot recommend this movie enough. As with all Ridley Scott’s works it is visually stunning; the screenplay is wonderful and the cast a delight. The Martian has enough excitement to allow you suspend all your disbeliefs,
Director: Ridley Scott
Released: October 2015
Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wig, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor.
