The Martian (2015)

*** out of  ****

Confession: I went into this film with the highest expectations possible. I absolutely adored Andy Weir's novel “The Martian”. I loved everything about it, from the story to the science to the presentation to the pacing.... everything. And I was of the opinion that this would, if done correctly, make a wonderful movie. So with Matt Damon in the starring role and directed by Ridley Scott, I went in thinking it was going to be an automatic favorite.

Not everything always goes exactly as planned, does it?

Before getting into what I saw as the film's weaknesses, I'll first give a synopsis and talk about what is right about it, and there is a lot that is right. Mark Watney (Damon) is an astronaut on the “Aries 3” mission to Mars. He and five other crewmates spent months traveling to the red planet, with the assignment of spending roughly a month on the surface. However, early in their stay on Mars a terrible dust storm hits, forcing them to abort the mission and blast off back to their orbiting module, before the storm winds are strong enough to knock over their launcher.

However, in the storm Watney is hammered by a windblown satellite dish and sent sailing off into the night. His biomonitor shows flatlines and after a brief and frantic search in the storm, the captain of the mission (Jessica Chastain) is forced to leave without him. Unbeknownst to them, the impact of the satellite dish damaged Watney's biomonitor (causing the flatlines) and he was simply unconscious and injured. Waking hours later to an alarm telling him his suit's life support was almost spent, he makes his way back to the habitat, which was undamaged from the storm. Now alone on Mars, unable to contact NASA and knowing he is presumed dead, Watney needs to find a way to survive and let NASA know he is alright.

Not all is as desperate as it initially seems. The habitat was designed to provide for 6 people for a month, and they had double supplies as backups. He has food, water and life support enough to last over a year.... but any possible rescue could take up to FOUR years. Martian soil has no biomatter so crops can't be grown there, and though Watney has lots of rocket fuel, he has no additional water. He realizes that in order to survive he will have to, in his words, “Science the shit out of this planet.”

The movie tells the story well, creates the appropriate tension, and is beautiful to watch. The characters are developed nicely, and they add just the right notes of humour to the seriousness of the situation. The science is (for the most part) accurate, which is pretty crucial to the plotline. Certain elements of the storyline of the novel were eliminated, but that was for time constraints – their loss didn't really detract from the story. So this is a terrific, enjoyable movie, offers entertainment as well as some things we can learn from, and even has elements of personal sacrifice and altruism that make many of the characters truly admirable.

That being said, I thought it was missing something.....

Weir's novel was almost ridiculously absorbing. As much as was possible was written in the first person, with only elements that Watney couldn't observe falling back into standard story-telling. But that left you feeling CONNECTED to Watney. His innermost feelings and fears are clear, and your heart aches for every setback he suffers and you feel joy for every victory. The movie just doesn't offer the same connection, which I found a little disappointing.

And (trying not to spoil anything here) they throw actual physics out the window for a cheap thrill near the end. In the book it was something that Watney only suggested he try (as a joke more than anything) but in the film they actually do it. I found that to be the worst possible decision, as in reality it would never, ever work. Probably the only thin gin the movie you could say that about.

Overall, this is a wonderful film, equal parts “Robinson Crusoe”, “Apollo 13” and “McGyver”. You are caught right up in the storyline and you root like hell for the protagonist not to die. While I can highly recommend it, my review would probably be a bit more glowing had I not first read the novel, or at least had I not loved the novel so deeply. What I can say is that if you go to see it, only the most shallow movie-goer won't be entranced by and enjoy this film.

But then read the book. It's better. A lot.