As far as Sci-Fi films go, I do believe that this is something of a masterpiece. No, it doesn't include laser guns and fighting off aliens. If that is what you were expecting, then this is film is not for you. Ridley Scott (same guy that made Blade Runner. Plus, he was 77 when he directed this film. Woah) deserves credit for masterfully directing this film and what a team he and Matt Damon make, who I thought pulled off one of his best performances to date.
It was not what I expected from a science fiction film and that is what makes it a superb film. It is thrilling, suspenseful and surprisingly funny at times. Which brings a reminder to us all that in desperate, trying times we all need a bit of comic relief in life. I would imagine that this role will have been an incredibly difficult one for Damon to play, as he is a man who is stranded on Planet Mars, simply looking for a way to survive.
So, we have the main character, Mark Watney, an astronaut who is stranded millions of miles away (and a lot of years it seems) from home on the planet Mars. We see that earlier on in the film, he was separated from his crew mates in a deathly storm (which I thought was a tornado on steroids, so survival chances were really slim) as they were trying to return their spaceship and Watney was struck by a piece of flying debris.
What made this incredibly sad is that he was left behind by his fellow crew mates as they presumed him dead. It's a cold world, right? Little did they know, their beloved teammate survived the storm and he was left to make do with what was left on the site created by his team.
It was very easy at the start for Mark to be incredibly desolate and downtrodden on his current situation, but he was determined to make sure that he would survive on Planet Mars. He was using a video diary in order to keep himself up to date on his daily activities. Whilst director Scott, never explicitly mentions this- it was a clever way to break the fourth wall when creating the video diaries. As an audience member watching the film, you feel that you are alone and isolated with Watney on the empty planet, gaining empathy for the protagonist. It bodes well that there is no antagonist or any other life, which helps with the dynamic of the film, amplifying the loneliness of Watney.
As we see Watney make heed to extend his survival rate on the planet, he also reaches Jet Propulsion Laboratory (otherwise known as JPL) through a device that looks a bit like Wall-E. This is where he communicates initially through ASCII Binary code to let them know that he is alive, planting potatoes in his... Homemade soil. We see that as the film progresses that NASA make it their sole purpose to bring their astronaut home safely.
What you usually find in Science fiction films, especially those that are suspense filled, time is often measured in a matter of minutes or seconds even. In the Martian, we find that Mark Watney is stranded for months on end and would have to wait for 9 months or more before he could get help. Honestly, that feels claustrophobic and uncomfortable, as the main character is talking to himself for the vast majority of his time whilst on Mars. There are moments that provide us with humour, that is excellently timed.
The cast that Ridley Scott assembled has some heavyweight names, some you would expect to see as the main characters. However they played their supporting roles exceedingly well. You see a familiar face in Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays the director of the Mars Mission and showed tremendous bravery in convincing his superiors to push on the efforts in rescuing Watney. We also see the likes of Michael Peña, award winning actress Jessica Chastain and more who played the roles of Watney's team. Particularly Chastain who played Commander Melissa Lewis, a strong hearted commander but one who showed courage and empathy as the team leader in the efforts of rescuing Watney.
This is a film that I strongly recommend, one which I think will have you on the edge of your seat. It is thoroughly enjoyable throughout and yes I know, two hours seems a long time but it's worth it. Kudos to Ridley Scott and his team for pulling off this work of art.
Any thoughts on the film, be sure to leave a comment down below.
Over and out.
One of my all time favourite films. I watch this at least once a fortnight and I remember everything about the pathfinder project (showing my age!) so it was quite emotional. A great review. SPOILER ALERT: the tears he cried in the pod to rendezvous with the crew were genuine tears as it was the first time he’d spoken to someone else on camera. Keep these coming.
ReplyDeleteThat moment nearly had me in tears, I won't lie! Thank you!
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