The Martian Review

The Martian

"I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this"  -Mark Watney

  Science, Ridley Scott, and Survival. Nerds are delighted by 2 of those 3 things. I'll let you figure which ones they are.

  The Martian, directed by the great Ridley Scott, is a science fiction survivalist film starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney, Jessica Chastain as Melissa Lewis, Jeff Daniels as Teddy Sanders, Michael Peña as Rick Martinez, Sean Bean as Mitch Henderson, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor, Kate Mara as Beth Johanssen, Sebastian Stan as Chris Beck, Aksel Hennie as Alex Vogel, Kristen Wiig as Annie Montrose, and Donald Glover as Rich Purnell. *Inhale* Wow! What a cast!

^I felt the same way when I heard about the cast, Matt^

 

  When Ares III, the manned mission to Mars, and its crew members get hit by a powerful storm, they are forced to leave Mars due to the extreme conditions. On their way to the ship, Mark Watney is hit by debris as his 5 fellow crew members watch and unfortunately leave him behind thinking that he has died. However, Mark is still alive, but now he is all alone on Mars, his accompanying crew members/friends have left him, and he has no hope...Well screw that! This is Mark Watney! he is going to survive and get back to Earth!

 ^Attaboy, Matty!^

  A simple plot filled with complexities that include science and the power of humankind.

  I'm just going to inform you now, I didn't read the book. The reason for this is because I didn't want to be influenced at all by the book on what to think of the movie. I see it as a movie. That being said, from what people have told me, the movie stayed true to the book.

^So you're either a sad Administrator of NASA Charlie Bolden...

...or a happy Administrator of NASA Charlie Bolden! (I would think most people are the happy one though)^

  One of the things that blew me away in the first scene in the movie, that went on until the end, was the look of Mars. Obviously this wasn't shot on Mars (at least I hope not), but it looks like a whole different planet. This is majorly due to the excellent cinematography by Dariusz Wolski. I'm guessing the shooting of the desert red planet was done in an actual desert, but once you see it on the big screen, there is not words to describe the beauty of this barren desert.

^Wow. Mars...or maybe it's just the Gobi Desert^

  Another reason why I thought The Martian was a fantastic movie was the science. Personally, I love learning about space and I feel like I know a little more about it than the average person.

 ^Yeah, you! Because I'm classy and smart and you're not^

  

  The science explained in The Martian is "dumbed" down enough to where a person doesn't feel stupid when listening, but they will also not feel like everything they just heard went over their head. It's a perfect blend of communication and science. In one scene, Donald Glover's character was explaining the mathematics of the mission to save Watney and it was down-right hilarious. I honestly couldn't believe that Donald Glover (The Childish Gambino???) played such an intelligent character with such appeal. Nerds, watch for this scene because it has a Lord of the Rings Easter egg that is amazing.

^Donald Glover - Code Name: The Awkward Nerd. Or Regular Nerd if you prefer^

  Speaking of communication, Matt Damon did a remarkable job portraying Mark Watney. Either he could've been an unlikable Debbie-downer or a charismatic and funny optimistic. Luckily, it's Matt Damon. He's just awesome. I didn't realize that this movie was going to be as uplifting and as funny as it turned out to be, but even well after the movie ended, here I am still smiling about how creative and outstanding the tone of The Martian was. 

^But let's not leave out the parts where we, as the audience, were crying^

  So in the end, I absolutely loved The Martian. Its powerful message of human-kindness and the drive to survive were the main elements of what made this movie my favorite film of the year so far. I laughed, I cried, I felt scared out of my mind, and most of all, I felt hopeful. I recommend this movie to everyone, as long as you have a heart.

Pro

• Hopefulness and the drive to stay alive
• Matt Damon and the rest of the supporting cast
• Hilarious!
• Nerds will especially love it
• Direction and cinematography

Con

• None

 

5/5

Watch the trailer here

The Martian is rated PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity.

The Martian is in theaters now

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