The Martian Shoots for the Stars
Growing up, my mother worked at NASA’s visitor center in Cleveland. Naturally this pushed along my interest in anything related to outer space. Of course I’ve always loved Sci-Fi movies like Star Wars or Star Trek, but the more realistic ones stand out to me too. Stuff like Apollo 13 or Gravity is golden to me so The Martian was the perfect way to kill two hours.
The basic setup for The Martian is that Mark Watney (Damon) is taking part in a mission to Mars with five other astronauts. Things take a turn for the worse and Watney winds up stranded on the planet with his team mates headed back to earth thinking he’d died. Wanted survives thought and he must stay alive in the barren wasteland of Mars in hopes of being rescued.
The Good
Some of the best parts of The Martian are watching Watney’s trial and error while he tries to figure out how he’s going to survive for years on a desolate planet that doesn’t support life with supplies only intended to last him a month. While he’s doing that, You get to see scientists on earth try to figure out how to communicate with him and make it back to mars which is four years away to rescue him.
It seems like that premise would cause for a lot of boredom and waiting, but I was immersed. Matt Damon makes it all interesting through his narration via talking to a video journal. There’s also lots of wise-racking and an unexpected disco soundtrack that lightens up the mood which could have been pretty drab.
Damon’s supporting cast did a great job too. None really steal the show, but the standouts here are Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeff Daniels. They bring the gravitas and make the situation feed dire when it needs to. Being a huge fan of rap music, the appearance of Donald Glover was great moment.
The Bad
This movie was truly great and almost immediately drops you right into the action. There’s no real flaws that come to mind on this one. Matt Damon really knows how to pick ’em.
The Verdict
If you’re a fan of Sci-Fi movies or ones about space travel like Apollo 13, Interstellar or Gravity, you’ll likely love this one. This will be another hit for Director Ridley Scott.
