Em for Movies - The Martian

About a year ago I was given a copy of The Martian. I hadn’t heard anything about it whatsoever, apart from my mother’s strict instructions to, “Read this, then call me.” The cover was intriguing and I didn’t even bother reading the blurb on the back; I immediately flipped to the opening line and was hooked.

Earlier that same week, I’d had a very fun conversation with a friend about our all-time favourite opening lines of novels. The Martian leapt into my top 5 with style.

            “I’m pretty much fucked.” Bam.

Naturally, I was thrilled when I heard that they were turning Andy Weir’s triumphant, (originally) self-published sci-fi geekventure into a movie. As with any adaptation, I had certain expectations going in and I must say they were all either met or exceeded. As though the filmmakers had my checklist in their hand, going point for point and making sure they got everything.

A (very) little background on the story for you: Mark Watney is a very bright, capable, nice guy left for dead on Mars by his crew during a crazy storm.

What makes this story work is the personality of its hero. Mark is wry and practical and relatable. He embodies the slightly nerdy and irrepressible spirit of modern survival, where he is very aware of how precarious his heroics are (making water by burning hydrogen springs to mind), and yet unwilling to accede. Matt Damon waxes perfection, expressing the boyish zeal as well as the logic and tenacity of the character.

The secondary cast members shine as well; Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain and Chiwetel Ejiofor turn in great performances. Sean Bean was understated and perhaps underutilized in his role, though I suppose not dying (spoiler?) was a new challenge for him. It felt truly surreal and a little jarring when a meeting of NASA’s finest is obliquely referred to as “the Council of Elrond”, and the Lord of the Rings reference is then explained with Boromir sitting quietly in the background. Not worth dwelling on, though.

Mars itself was desolate and beautiful and terrifying, as it should be. It was given center stage as far as scenery goes, with the action on Earth centered in offices and control rooms. Even outdoor shots of crowds gathered together to watch feats of derring-do 140 million miles away are tightly focused urban scenes with no visible horizon or landscape to speak of. This worked to give Mars the greater sense of place and realism, which kept me well grounded on the red planet.

Overall, The Martian was everything that I wanted it to be. Elements of classic sci-fi treated with a self-awareness and ease made it a delight to watch. A liberal addition of humour (ever-present in the book as well, if you couldn’t tell from the opening line) alleviated the drama and counterpointed the action to make a truly enjoyable film.

In the scale of drinks, I'd give it a cardassian sunrise.