Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, Sean Bean
Think of The Martian as Gravity times ten. Gravity (2013) was a harrowing story of an astronaut trapped in space above the Earth with only her wits and ingenuity to guide her in her attempts to make it back to Earth. Mark Watney (Damon) has it worse, if you can imagine that. He is left behind on Mars by his research team during a massive storm and believed to be dead. He survives, however, and has to find a way to survive on an uninhabitable planet where food doesn't grow, there is no water, and he is unable to communicate with NASA. Throw into the mix that he may not be rescued for at least four years (if NASA ever discovers him) if my Mars time vs. Earth time calculations are correct. Mars is roughly about 140 million miles from Earth, so the math is staggering.
The allure of a film like The Martian is universal. We see a man facing overwhelming odds to survive in the worst of circumstances. You would have to be a real churl not to root for him. Watney maintains his sanity by logging daily entries into a video journal (which acts as the electronic version of Wilson from Cast Away) and undertaking the challenge of growing food using human waste and botanical techniques. It is a time-honored plot which we've seen in Gravity, Apollo 13, and Cast Away on different levels, but it is still an effective one. How would any of us feel about being trapped in a place with little or no hope of rescue?
In these grim circumstances, The Martian maintains its humor and hope. NASA, under the watchful eye of budget-conscious Teddy Sanders (Daniels), discovers Watney is alive and springs into action to rescue him. They strategically do not tell his crew that they left him stranded in order to spare them the guilt they would ultimately feel, so they crunch numbers and think outside the box to come up with a timely and practical rescue operation. Time is of the essence, but even in the best of situations, it would take at least one year to even launch a rescue. We see Watney continuing his daily struggle juxtaposed with scientists trying effortlessly in the face of harsh deadlines to figure an unprecedented plan.
We identify with Watney, who is bravely and with good humor trying to fight through unprecedented and dire circumstances. He thinks on his feet and shows dogged determination. "I'm going to have to science the shit out of this," he says and boy does he ever. And you thought the kid from Home Alone was ingenious. We know good and well that Watney will not be left to die because that would be a bummer on a massive scale. We have seen Gravity, Apollo 13, and Cast Away so we know this, but the strengths of The Martian lie in the suspense of learning just how NASA plans to rescue Watney. The Watney character has a built-in sympathy card, but that does not stop Damon from creating a smart and funny person who lasts a lot longer than he should on Mars through sheer intelligence and elbow grease. Sometimes duct tape is the difference between death and another day of life on the hostile planet.
Ridley Scott tackles another space opera with seamless visuals. Mars is seen in all of its desolation and vastness, as is space itself. The final rescue mission is not without its perils, mostly the danger of flying out into space forever if you can't grab onto something. I can not say if any of the science in The Martian is accurate, but it sure sounds convincing enough. I'm sure there are going to be articles and video blogs on You Tube detailing all of the inaccuracies of The Martian, but who cares anyway? The point is to craft a suspenseful space adventure and it works splendidly.
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