Based upon the novel by Andy Weir
Screenplay Written by Drew Goddard
Directed by Ridley Scott
***1/2 (three and a half stars)
RATED PG 13
Is it really amazing to me that a movie that is actually quite traditional can now exist as something astoundingly audacious.
2015. When I think of the year, especially now that I am living comfortably inside of it, I look back to the images that originally conjured within my brain as I conceptualized what 2015 could possibly look, feel and be like. I don't necessarily mean flying cars and such (although those did pass through my imagination), but I had wondered if we, as a human society, would have advanced far beyond anything that I could conceive. Maybe it was all so naive of me, my head filled with such daydreams. But even so, the concept of 2015, and even the 21st century in and of itself, just seemed to be unfathomable to me.
And yet, here we are and life in the 21st century is indeed unfathomable to my perceptions as to how regressive we have become in some ways, especially regarding the nature of facts, Science, Math, the pursuit of intelligence and even the nature of reality itself. With a sea of political leaders and Presidential candidates all turning their backs against all that is real, plus the defunding of NASA and a cultural dialogue that has grown destructively vitriolic and divisive, the world where I thought we would be striving for new discoveries has been seemingly replaced by a world that finds the pursuit of knowledge more of a burden than a virtue. It sometimes makes me feel like I would want to fly off into the skies, the stars and points unknown just to rid myself of all that is so obviously holding humanity backwards.
Director Ridley Scott's "The Martian," a terrific adaptation of the best selling Andy Weir novel, is a richly rendered experience that serves as a cultural antidote as well as a simultaneous celebration and lament for all we are capable of as well as for how much we are losing and have already lost. Even so, it is a film which possesses a surprisingly heartfelt overflow of the best of humanity, especially coming from a filmmaker who has been traditionally prickly, cynical and clinical. "The Martian," existing as a film that contains so much isolation, is a wonderfully inclusive motion picture that finds Ridley Scott exhibiting tremendous focus and energy, therefore making one of the most entertaining and involving films of his long career.
"The Martian" stars Matt Damon as Astro-Botanist Mark Watney, crew member of the Ares III and stationed upon Mars. When an intense sandstorm arises, forcing the crew to depart the planet, an accident separates Watney from the remainder of the crew, leaving him lost and presumed dead.
Yet, on the morning after the storm, Watney awakens to find that he has not only survived, he is now alone and stranded upon the red planet without means of communication to NASA. Realizing that he now has to "science the shit" out of his new surroundings, he utilizes his skills as a botanist to grow crops within an artificial habitat, refurbishes the rover to make it capable for long journeys and he also keeps himself a video diary to help maintain his morale as well as his sanity as he calculates that he has possibly three years to survive, that is, all going well.
Meanwhile at NASA, engineer Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Mission Control satellite planner Mindy Park (Mackenzie Davis) receive satellite photos from Mars revealing that Mark Watney is indeed still alive. Enlisting the combined aid of NASA Director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels), NASA spokesperson Annie Montrose (Kristen Wiig), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Director Brce Ng (Benedict Wong), astrophysicist Rich Purnell (Donald Glover), NASA Mission Director Mitch Henderson (Sean Bean), the Chinese National Space Agency and finally, the crew of the Ares III now aboard the Hermes (featuring Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Kata Mara and Askel Hennie), a plan is formulated to try and rescue Watley and return him to Earth.
As you would expect, Ridley Scott's "The Martian" is a visually resplendent film, filled from beginning to end with A list production values, seamless special effects and armed with a cast that is uniformly excellent. Matt Damon once again provides a completely compelling performance that firmly illustrates that he is indeed one of our rare actors who is superbly able to hold the screen all alone for long stretches of time during this survivalist epic with strength, ease, remarkable depths of pathos and equally surprising sections of self-deprecating humor (just imagine being marooned on Mars with only disco music to listen to), making this an experience that works very well as a companion piece to films like Director Robert Zemeckis' "Cast Away" (2000), Director Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" (2010) and Director Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity" (2013).
Additionally, "The Martian" is a film that sits most comfortably alongside past interstellar epics like Writer/Director Philip Kaufman's "The Right Stuff" (1983), Director Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" (1995), Director Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" (2014) and of course, Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968), as Ridley Scott presents an outer space excursion based not in fantasy, but one filled with ideas and tangible concepts as the reality of Science and Math are placed center stage in Mark Watley's survivalist and existential crisis.
That being said, the familiarity of "The Martian" to all of those aforementioned films did lend itself to a certain predictable nature that, at least for me, downplayed some of the film's more visceral qualities as I have seen this sort of thing many times before. But truth be told, Ridley Scott has not fashioned "The Martian" to function as a white knuckle thrill ride like "Gravity,"although both films share similar themes, most notably attempting to survive within the unpredictable, unforgiving nature of space. But even so, and as engrossing as the film is, I wasn't as swept away as I had hoped that I would be, possibly due to Scott's more clinical directorial hand.
Regardless, where"The Martian" does indeed find its considerable thrills, and therefore, its conceptual fuel, is completely within the inherent drama that is housed inside of problem solving and collaboration in order to achieve a common goal. No small feat and Scott achieves several sequences of riveting drama that solely focuses on individuals confronting a situation, and being forced to conceptualize another angle, another avenue, another plan of attack.
Dear readers, there truly is something to be said about watching a collective of individuals utilizing their intellects and not weapons in order to achieve success. And while some have celebrated the film by facetiously utilizing the terms "nerds," I actually have to discredit that very description because honestly, why is one dismissively considered to be less than another just because one happens to be intelligent? In contrast, I found the characters of "The Martian" to be nothing less than heroic, knowing that sheer brain power combined with empathy and humanity is an awesome tool to behold and within the realm of Science, Math, Physics and the like, it is not a tool so easily discovered, and one that provides the film with a sense of honest uplift.
But let's get back to where we are in 2015 within the real world and where "The Martian" fits inside of it. As I have previously stated, Ridley Scott has created a film that while being very much of the present, is indeed quite old-fashioned and familiar. Even so, and considering the destructive nature of our current socio-political landscape, I truly felt it to be an act of sheer audacity to create a big budget motion picture (which has already become a box office hit), a two and a half hour epic that is essentially proclaiming from start to finish: "SCIENCE IS REAL!!!!!"
Just think about it for a moment. We currently have a candidate running for President who actually is a scientist yet somehow does not believe in the reality of climate change and has even openly questioned the origin of gravity and he's one of the front runners for the Republican party! That reality says as much, if not more, about our populace as it does about the candidate himself and furthermore illustrates the danger to all of us if we allow those who would adhere to ideology rather than reality to have their hands upon the wheels. "The Martian," at its best, is a showcase for a specialized brand of ingenuity, discovery, and imagination, all of which arrives completely through the knowledge of Science and Math, something I feel that should be celebrated and not twisted to be seen as tools for the elite.
And therefore, it is the communal aspect of "The Martian" that provides the film with its honest and earned uplift, by showing how Science, Math and intelligence itself can bring individuals together, not for commerce or for profit but for a cause that is humane. Considering the dark filmography of Ridley Scott, which includes the iconic outer space haunted house thrills of "Alien" (19179), the dystopian futuristic detective masterpiece "Blade Runner" (1982), plus the likes of the grim feminist road movie "Thelma And Louise" (1991), and even, the downright nihilistic "Prometheus" (2012), it is truly a wonderment that Scott has created a film that depicts the possibilities rather than the pitfalls and consequences, and it is, just as surprisingly, a good look for him.
That said, I would offer a word of caution towards his casting choices in regards to diversity, especially after all of the heat he deservedly shouldered for his lily-white casting of his Egypt set biblical epic "Exodus: Gods And Kings" (2014). While it was indeed a pleasure to see all of the different faces of color within "The Martian," and all functioning within a variety of careers to boot, it was solely among the men. Honestly, Ridley Scott, are there no female Scientists???? Yes, we have Jessica Chastain and Kate Mara as our astronauts but out of such a large cast and the collective of Scientists running all around the film, could none of them be women? Just think of the girls who could have been deeply inspired just by having a visual. No, this doesn't derail the film as a whole but it is a sore spot nonetheless.
But please do not allow those small dings to deter you from heading out to this film for Ridley Scott's "The Martian" is a crowd pleasing, visually stunning ode to the gifts of logic, reasoning and critical thinking, the kind of which can be utilized for the betterment of all.
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