4 Reasons You Can't Miss The Martian, Matt Damon's Excellent Space Dramedy
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The Martian was one of the Toronto International Film Festival's most raved-about movies, but when we watched the space-set film starring Matt Damon, we were struck by one thing: the marketing doesn't really convince you that this is the crowd-pleaser that it is. The massively entertaining film has a lot going for it, but it's possible that those "Bring Him Home" posters may have made you feel like this is Saving Private Ryan 2: Mars Edition. So before the movie's release date this Friday, let us tell you how much you're really going to love The Martian.
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Matt Damon Is Really, Really Funny
Matt Damon's character Mark Watney gets left behind by his crew when he's presumed dead during a destructive storm on Mars, and from the first second he realizes he's alive, he's on a mission to stay alive and get rescued. The idea of being the lone man on a planet thought to be unlivable sounds bleak, but The Martian is anything but. That's, of course, due to Mark's determination, but really, it's Mark's sense of humor that keeps things from being bleak or boring. Mark records constant logs of his time on Mars, and there are so many jokes and so much self-deprecation, you forget this isn't a comedy.
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But It's Not a One-Man Show
Don't feel like you have to really love Matt Damon to love The Martian (but if you do, this is so your movie). Director Ridley Scott smartly goes back and forth between Mars and Earth (and sometimes Mark's crew). Back in the US, NASA's finest (including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, and Jeff Daniels) are trying to figure out a way to get Mark home, so you're not only seeing lots of other characters besides Mark, you don't feel like you're stuck there, too.
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The Science Is Totally Accessible
The Martian's characters are almost exclusively brainiacs who work for NASA — Mark is a botanist, Donald Glover plays an astrodynamics expert, and we spend a lot of time at a jet propulsion lab. Science is a big part of this movie, but it's made to be totally accessible, even if you think you have no interest or wouldn't get it. You will: the script lays out everything in such logical, reasonable language that you'll be pretty sure you should have been a rocket scientist, too.
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It's Not Really About Mars
OK, yes, almost all of the film takes place on the unholy terrain of Mars, but that does not make it the kind of movie that only science-fiction lovers will appreciate. Instead, Mars is the backdrop for an incredible survival story, one that engages you at every moment and keeps you invested not just in Mark's life, but in his crew's lives as well. So basically, if you're thinking of skipping this because you're not that into space-set movies, don't: you'd be missing out.