20th Century Fox
Rated PG-13
Running time: 144 Minutes
Click below to watch a movie trailer of The Martian from YouTube.
In Twentieth Century Fox's The Martian, on a manned mission to Mars - astronaut/biologist Matt Damon is accidentally left behind on Mars when his crew thinks he is dead.
In a cross between Gravity, Interstellar, and Robinson Crusoe on Mars - but actually more upbeat than the others - The Martian, Produced and Directed by Ridley Scott and based on the Novel The Martian Written by Andy Weir, has Damon trying to survive all by himself after a Martian storm makes the manned Mars expedition crew believe that Damon has been lost and presumed dead after debris strikes him during the storm. Due to the limited resources that would last him thirty-one days, Damon has to science himself to survive with food and water for the next four years. Damon's sense of humor, as he is determined to use his relevant skills to survive, makes this film much more enjoyable to watch than the serious Gravity and Interstellar movies - although the movie does feel like Interstellar with the movie having both actors Damon and Jessica Chastain in both movies.
Damon's medical treatment of himself for his wounds were pretty graphic for me to see and I could barely watch them. I personally think I would have screamed a lot more than Damon did while digging into my own wounds.
The Ares III crew, Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, represent NASA astronauts at it's best - while Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, Benedict Wong, Mackenzie Davis, and Jeff Daniels represent NASA Mission Control and JPL. Daniels as the head of NASA was too much of a bureaucrat for me, while the others represented the true space proponents to me as they try to problem solve Damon's rescue and bring him home - similar to Apollo 13 - once they are able to communicate with Damon. The lack of communication with NASA and Damon's crew mates was most frustrating for me as someone who is used to using various methods of instantaneous communications.
This movie is also the most dramatic role I have seen Michael Pena play, even though he still has a comedic characterization. I also loved the astronauts flying through the spacecraft Hermes in zero gravity. Having the news media like CNN and CNN reporter Frederick Pleitgen and the world routing for Damon made for a connection for me that Gravity and Interstellar did not have.
In scenes similar to the movie Apollo 13, NASA does what it can on the ground in order to help Damon survive and come home. NASA had scientific advisers for the movie, including James L. Green, the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA, helping to make the movie more scientifically accurate. Fifty pages of the script is NASA material - although there are some inaccuracies done for dramatic effect. Perhaps the mostly scientific accuracy of the movie is why some people believe that the events of this fictional movie actually did happen The movie does show how dangerous living and traveling in space can be. As Damon says, at some point - everything is going to go south on you.
I think it is cool that The Martian has been screened on the International Space Station - and that four days before the US release, NASA announced that they had found evidence that water flows on the surface of Mars. For more on NASA's planned missions to Mars, click here.
There was a lot of disco music from the collection of Commander Chastain's collection of music, which Damon played while he was alone on Mars. Surprisingly, none of the other astronauts seemed to have had their own collections of music to play as entertainment during their long mission - especially since Damon had access to their personal effects left behind when the astronauts suddenly had to abort the Mars mission.
There are scenes as the end credits start to play at the end of the movie, even though Damon's end scenes are not in the book. I thought Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive was a great song to use for the end of the movie.
Click below to watch another movie trailer of The Martian from YouTube.
Click below to watch a special documentary feature clip of the crew of The Martian from YouTube.
Rated PG-13 for language and nudity. Running time: 144 Minutes.
Pancho
All people smile in the same language.
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