Although one can rarely fault his ambition, the results have been mixed, especially in recent years. (Considering that he also played a stranded astronaut in Interstellar, one wonders whether he has become Hollywood's go-to guy for this kind of character.)Īs a director, Ridley Scott is by no means a "can't miss" proposition. They support and never threaten to take the spotlight away from Damon. The secondary cast is impressive, with names like Jessica Chastain, Kristin Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sean Bean lending their talents, but their roles aren't large. Only once does Watney give into despair and, on that occasion, it doesn't last long. The fear, the anguish, the loneliness, the desperation, and the joy… they're all there. This is Damon's movie and it's hard to find a flaw in the way he brings Watney to life. One key difference: here, he isn't surrounded by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Martin Sheen. Neither action hero nor supporting character nor George Clooney sidekick, he gives a performance to rival The Departed as the best of his career. Likewise, some of the Earth-based scenes, while not openly comedic, are played with a lighthearted sensibility.įor Matt Damon, this is a rare opportunity to show his range. Watney's introspective video journals illustrate not only his practicality and innovation but his wry (sometimes gallows) sense of humor. Without detracting from the seriousness of the situation, director Ridley Scott infuses the production with moments of low-key, appropriate comedy. There are certainly physical challenges but the psychological difficulties are the most compelling ones.Īlthough the concept of a modern day Robinson Crusoe marooned on Mars might sound like a depressing proposition, the film's tone never ventures into dark and downbeat territory. The Martian's drama evolves from showing how the character copes with isolation. Instead, it's a close cousin to sci-fi stories like Moon, Gravity, and Interstellar and deals with some of the same themes and ideas as Cast Away and Touching the Void. Since The Martian isn't interested in the exploitation aspect, that makes it an outlier in the "Mars" canon. Most movies about Mars (and there have been a lot of them) are hybrid science fiction-horror or science fiction-thriller productions with little emphasis on the "science fiction" part of the equation. The film then becomes a race against time to save Watney before his provisions run out. Within a month, NASA has become aware of his survival and, not long after, rudimentary communications are possible. Although injured, he is able to use an emergency medical kit to close a wound and, after coming to terms with the enormity of his situation, he assesses what he will have to do to survive. When NASA receives the news, director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) and Mars mission controller Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) make the news of the death public. He is reluctantly left behind by his fellows. In the race to the escape craft, Watney is struck by a piece of flying debris, lost, and presumed dead. The approach of a major storm - one that has the potential of tearing apart the fragile artificial habitat - forces Lewis to order an emergency evacuation. In addition to astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) and mission Captain Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), the crew includes pilot Rick Martinez (Michael Pena), chemist Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie), and specialists Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara) and Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan).
As the movie opens, the six-person crew of the Ares 3 mission are on the planet's surface conducting experiments and gathering samples. The events of The Martian transpire in the near future, although an exact date isn't given. It's also an examination of how necessity truly can be the mother of invention - not only for the survivor but for those on Earth seeking to find a way to save him. It's an introspective story about what it might be like to be the sole inhabitant of a distant world and knowing that instant communication isn't possible and a rescue is at best a year away. This is neither an action-oriented motion picture nor a special effects extravaganza. With the exception of a slightly over-the-top ending, the film mostly avoids the "Hollywood-isms" that sometimes degrade science fiction into futuristic fantasy. Following in the wake of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar (and featuring two of the same cast members), The Martian speculates about how a near-future manned Mars mission might evolve.
The martian movie cast series#
The Martian is the latest in a series of realistic science fiction films - movies that eschew the space opera elements of the genre and concentrate instead on believable aspects.
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