Official Synopsis
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.
Watch the trailer here:
{media load=media,id=4188,width=720,align=center,display=inline}
Now for the review.
In the first act, the Martian gets off to a hot start when astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left for dead after a manned mission to Mars goes south during a severe storm. The Hermes crew, which includes Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chasten), Beth Johnanssen (Kate Mara), pilot Rick Martinez (Michael Pena), flight surgeon Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan), and navigator/chemist Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie) decide they must leave Watney after he is struck by a satellite and gets separated from the rest of the crew. Back on Earth, NASA Director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) holds a press conference to announce that while the Hermes crew succeeded in leaving Mars, but Mark Watney was lost, and has been declared dead.
Once Watney wakes up, he begins to realize the tall task that stands before him. He must figure out how to increase his food supply (on a planet where nothing grows), get in touch with NASA to break the news he’s alive, and figure out how to survive for however long it might take a rescue crew to reach him. Watney makes light of the bleak situation with his well-timed humor and assistance from the film’s disco themed soundtrack that was left by Commander Mellissa Lewis. This act concludes with a lot of housekeeping and planning for both Watney and the NASA crew as they figure out a way to bring Watney home.
The second act includes a lot of problem solving and public relations nightmares for NASA as they try to figure out a way to work with other space programs around the world in order to save Watney. Meanwhile they have the tough task of keeping the public informed of what measures they’re taking to save the lone astronaut, while the whole world watches their every move. This act includes some fantastic shots of the Martian landscape and ultimately gives the viewer a sense of how isolated Watney is on Mars.
The final act includes an intense rescue mission that will keep you on the edge of your seat for a good 15-20 minutes. The final scenes of The Martian offer an awe-inspiring set of visuals that rival those of similar space-themed movies such as Interstellar and Gravity. The ending of the film wasn’t as strong or impactful as I would’ve expected, especially given how great the film was up until that point. However, the film’s visuals and great acting make it a memorable experience.
Overall the mix of great acting, humor, and absolutely stunning visuals make The Martian one of the best movies of the year. They did a fantastic job of mixing in humor to break tension during what would otherwise be extremely nerve-racking situations. There’s a lot of playful dialogue between Watney, the Hermes crew, and NASA which works extremely well and makes the experience much more enjoyable.
I’m normally a fan of watching movies over and over again but with the Martian I immediately wanted to sit down and watch it again. Which for me, makes it one of the best science fiction movies I’ve ever seen.
If you haven’t seen this movie. Do it. Now.
Included in The Martian extended edition are over 2 hours of never-before-seen special features including:
• Theatrical and Extended Cut Audio Commentary by Ridley Scott, Drew Goddard and Andy Weir
• The Long Way Home: Making The Martian
• Dare Mighty Things: NASA’s Journey to Mars
• The Journey to Mars 101: NASA’s Journey to Mars
• The Journey to Mars 101: Living on Mars and Beyond
• The Journey to Mars 101: Why Science Fiction Inspires Me
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Ares III: Refocused
• 5 Ares Mission Videos
• And More!
Here are some of the special features I enjoyed:
Theatrical and Extended Cut Audio Commentary by Ridley Scott, Drew Goddard and Andy Weir: It’s really enjoyable to go through the film with some extra content. Even though the film is already around 2 and a half hours the extra 10 minutes doesn’t bother me because it’s enjoyable content and adds some great footage. I highly recommend the extended cut.
The Long Way Home: Making The Martian portion of the special features offers some great insight to how The Martian made the transition from book to movie. It features over an hour of interviews from the film’s crew including, Andy Weir (the author), Ridley Scott (director), Aditya Sood (producer), Simon Kinberg (producer), Matt Damon (Mark Watney) and other stars from the film. Over the hour it goes in depth talking about casting, costumes, the film’s production, stunts, all the way to post-production.
Dare Mighty Things: NASA’s Journey to Mars has some great information from NASA administrators and engineers pertaining to what would go into an actual Mars mission in the future and some of the logistics of a manned mission to Mars.
Deleted scenes include some amazing shots of Earth and Mars that didn’t make it in the film.
The gag reel has about 7 minutes of hilarous clips and bloopers, definitely check this out.
Overall, The Martian offers an impressive amount of special features and the extended cut really expands on an already impressive 2 and a half hours of film. If you get the chance, go through the special features, there’s a considerable amount of fun content to explore.
{media load=media,id=4189,width=720,align=center,display=inline}
