The Martian can easily be our (space-traveller or mere earthling) worst nightmare. To be left behind anywhere is bad enough. Now imagine – to be marooned on Planet Mars! No one has set foot on Mars for all the four and a half billion years of the known history of mankind and to be alone in such a place, millions and millions of kilometers away from home.
Need I remind you this is also before the very recent discovery of water on the Red Planet? My guess is that this makes it a wee bit more difficult. No small lake to cool one’s heels in! This is clearly the stuff of nightmares!
But The Martian is also a dream come true for sci-fi lovers. It’s a film that manages to do the perfect balancing act between science and fiction. Based on Andy Weir’s book and adapted by Drew Goddard, it basically is a survival tale. What happens when things go so wrong that life doesn’t even give you lemons? You squeeze out ingenuity, wit, hope and play your own version of Master Chef Mars! As the stranded astronaut Mark Watney puts it you basically have to “science the shit out of this.”
Mark Watney (Matt Damon) and his other astronaut friends are on a mission to Mars but have to abruptly abort because of a terrible storm. Mark gets hit by debris and thinking he has died they all leave. Only that Mark is not dead. The enormity of the situation is drilled further. It will take 4 years for a manned mission to reach Mars. Mark has supplies for just 31 days and no way of contacting NASA. Scary is a mild word.
Will he or won’t he make it back…alive? I’m not going to tell you because I really really want you to go see it.
In this galaxy of stars, Matt Damon is the Sun. He is scintillating and exudes likability, humour and heroic spirit. He has the best lines, gets the maximum screen time and has the entire cast revolving around him. The Martian is different from Gravity. Here the gravitas of the situation is peppered with smart one-liners and humour but minus the existentialist angst. Matt Damon deserves all praise for he really is the best kind of guy to be stranded on Mars. Of course I mean it as a compliment!
The rest of the cast which comprises Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Michael Pena and Sebastian Stan put up compelling performances too. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a scientist and makes up for the absence of any Indian star by having an Indian surname. He is Vincent Kapoor who, along with Jeff Daniels (plays the NASA Director), is trying all that is in their power to give this story a happy ending. In fact this film paints a glorious picture of human spirit and triumph, not just in the never say die attitude of the astronauts but also in the benevolence and cooperation exhibited by everyone at NASA, with even Chinese cooperation and large heartedness thrown in.
Director Ridley Scott does a great job of keeping the suspense and momentum going. Some scenes, particularly the one where the hostile Mars atmosphere plays the villain, are brilliantly portrayed. In the final moments, when the story is hinged precariously and could go either way, we find ourselves rooting for Mark. It’s both nerve-wrecking and captivating.
The Martian is almost 2 and half hours long and yet it doesn’t weigh us down. Mark is witty and listening to him as he spells out his many survival plans is what keeps us engaged. It has just the right dose of science. Not too little so that we scoff at the film and not so much that we feel stupid. While certain liberties have been taken that real scientists would never do, it’s all part of the fun.
I suggest you book your tickets for this one with immediate effect. The Martian is almost perfect. I’ll give it 4.5 QUINTS OUT OF 5.
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