Review: THE MARTIAN is an Interplanetary Homeric Epic

When you were a little kid, did you ever get separated from your parents in the mall or grocery store? Can you remember how the all-consuming terror of being abandoned to fend for yourself began in your chest and then crept out until it could be felt in every extremity in your body, and you became nothing more than an inconsolable blob of sweat and tears? Now imagine that instead of the cereal aisle, you were left on Mars; and instead of in the pharmacy, your parents were 140 million miles away, and couldn't come back to pick you up for four years. On second thought, don't imagine that, you'll just start crying again.

That is essentially the premise behind the new Matt Damon movie THE MARTIAN, which opens nationwide in 2D and 3D theaters today, after being exclusively on IMAX screens last weekend. The movie finds ways to communicate that inherent, crippling fear and anxiety through the prism of an intensely complicated story, resulting in a thoroughly captivating film that works on nearly every imaginable level.

Based on Andy Weir's book of the same name, Damon's astronaut Mark Watney is left on Mars after being lost during an emergency evacuation prompted by a massive sandstorm on the Red Planet. After shrapnel pierces his vital signs monitor, the rest of his crew believes him to be dead, and Commander Lewis, played by Jessica Chastain, reluctantly orders the launch home.

After coming to, Watney realizes that he is all alone on the barren, unforgiving planet, and that he must fend for himself in a vast wasteland. While his crew's Martian habitat, or "hab," and various other pieces of equipment were left behind, Watney calculates that he only has enough food to make it through about a quarter of the time until NASA's next manned-flight to the planet lands. With few options, and Mission Control still unaware that he is alive, Watney decides that to survive, he is "going to have to science the $h!t out of this," and science the $h!t out of it he does.

Since it was heavily featured in the trailer, I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Watney eventually makes contact with NASA and manages to get potatoes to grow in Mars' sandy soil, but what he is able to accomplish is not really the point of the movie. Instead, THE MARTIAN's intrigue and suspense come from how Watney, and eventually NASA, is able to tackle unbelievably harrowing, and scientifically complex, problems.

THE MARTIAN is most definitely science-fiction, but it leans heavily on the "science" part of that equation. Very little of the movie's two hours and 21 minutes could be considered action-packed, but nonetheless, you will likely be on the edge of your seat for most of it. The film, and I assume Weir's novel, avoid adding melodramatic twists like giving Watney an intra-shuttle love-affair, or having him constantly looking at pictures of a wife and children that he has left behind. The simplicity and honesty of the emotions go a long way in counter-balancing the technically intricate story.

In his best film since 2000's GLADIATOR, legendary director Ridley Scott allows the inherently dramatic situation to stand on its own, ultimately creating a more sympathetic protagonist and a more fraught and moving journey; even if it's twists and turns are fairly transparent from the get-go.

Damon's performance in the film is strong, hitting all of the proper notes, but again, that's not what this movie is about. THE MARTIAN's drama comes from the odyssey that one man takes to find his way home; this is an interplanetary Homeric epic. Along the way, Watney records video journals, in case he doesn't survive, that allow him to logically explain and soliloquize about what he is going through. While the device has strong expository purpose, it is also effective in lightening the otherwise dismal mood. There is a really funny sequence in which Watney realizes that according to maritime law, he technically is a space pirate.

In addition to Damon and the aforementioned Chastain, the rest of the all-star cast delivers solid performances, even if some are in only slightly written parts. Aksel Hennie, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, and Sebastian Stan make up the rest of the Ares III crew, while Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Kristen Wiig are working to bring Watney home from Earth. While most of the time the rest of the cast is simply used to advance the plot, there are opportunities for each to provide slivers of insight for us to see how different characters are dealing with the pressure to get this mission right; whether it is arguing over whether or not to tell Lewis and her crew that Watney survived, or what compromises can be made in trying to meet tight launch windows.

Scott and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski have created a visually beautiful piece, and will likely be front-runners for many of the technical awards come Oscar-time next year.

Ultimately, I imagine that THE MARTIAN will be remembered as one of the defining films of the year, and a decade from now, will likely be one of those movies that you just can't stop watching when it happens to be on TV, even if it does give you the sweats.

THE MARTIAN starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and more is rated PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity. The film opens nationwide on 2D and 3D screens today.

Did you take a trip with the crew of Ares III? Let me know what you thought of THE MARTIAN in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter. Also, make sure to follow @BWWMoviesWorld on Twitter for all of the biggest news from the world of movies.

Photo credit: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox - TM & © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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