2015 | Dir. Ridley Scott | 141 Minutes
"So, in the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option: I'm going to have to science the shit out of this."
In the near future, astronaut and botanist Mark Whatney is stranded on Mars after he is struck by debris during a dust storm that forced his fellow astronauts to leave the planet. Mark survives by growing his own food on the inhospitable planet. Meanwhile, after establishing contact with Mark, NASA, JPL and Mark's fellow astronauts work with the Chinese space program to bring Mark home.
Based on the novel by Andy Weir, The Martian is an entertaining and suspenseful ride that is full of humor and solid science. Veteran film director Ridley Scott delivers his most crowd-pleasing film yet, with an optimistic bent (and non-existent body count) that is uncommon for Scott. The film presents a situation in which scientists disregard politics and bureaucracy to amicably collaborate and save the life of one of their own. Whatney is written as a resourceful and funny man, retaining hope in a nightmare situation. The comedic beats are enhanced by a diegetic soundtrack featuring disco hits, the only music available to Whatney left behind by his commander on Mars.
The film sports a massive and talented cast lead by Matt Damon as Watney, charmingly humorous and convincingly brilliant. Chiwetel Ejiofor portrays NASA mission director Vincent Kapoor, spending much of the film butting heads with Jeff Daniels playing NASA head Teddy Sanders, a microcosm of humanism against practicality. Jessica Chastain plays Ares III mission commander Melissa Lewis, evoking believable authority and compassion, supported by Michael Peña as pilot Rick Martinez, Kate Mara as geeky system operator Beth Johanssen, Sebastian Stan as the dashing flight surgeon Chris Beck, and Aksel Hennie as navigator Alex Vogel. The cast also features Mackenzie Davis as Mission Control satellite tech Mindy Park, Sean Bean as mission director Mitch Henderson, Benedict Wong as JPL director Bruce Ng, Donald Glover as eccentric JPL astrodynamicist Rich Purnell, Kristen Wiig as NASA media relations director Annie Montrose, and veteran Chinese actor Eddy Ko as CNSA chief Guo Ming.
The Martian is an uplifting picture with sufficient unique talent and style to set it apart from other astronaut films.
FRAGMENT
- The Project Elrond meeting, in which several characters discuss in secret a way to bring Whatney home, is particularly amusing considering the participation of actor Sean Bean who played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy in which he was a participant at the Council of Elrond, Project Elrond’s namesake
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Kate Mara (US Marshall in Iron Man 2)
- Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame)
- Michael Peña (Luis in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp)
- Chiwetel Ejiofor (Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
- Benedict Wong (Wong in Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
- Donald Glover (Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming)
- Matt Damon (Asgardian Actor playing Loki in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder)
