It's Oscars-time again, which means
opportunities to see lots of “elegantly restrained dramas,” not
to mention movies about the Holocaust and gay people. Movies, as
Eric Cartman would say, “about gay cowboys eating pudding.” Not
that there's anything wrong with that. Many of those movies are
actually quite good. It's nice, though, to see a quality picture
that is forward-looking, funny, and full of action. I'm talking
about a movie that doesn't sit on your Netflix queue while you psych
yourself up to sit down and watch it. “The Martian” is that
movie!
Matt Damon plays astronaut Mark
Watney, who gets lost, presumed-dead, and left behind in a Martian
storm. When he wakes up in a pile of sand to find himself alone on
the red planet, the enormity of his situation is evident. Even if he
can find a way to signal earth that he is alive, it will take four
years to mount a manned-rescue operation, and he only has enough food
for a few months. Mark doesn't just throw in the towel, though. He
figures out ways to grow food, make water, signal earth, and so on.
As he describes it later, “You solve a problem, then you solve the
next problem, and if you solve enough problems, you make it home.”
Meanwhile, the all-star cast back on earth tries to figure out a way
to bring him home.
“The Martian” created a quandary
for Golden Globe voters earlier this year. The movie is clearly a
drama, but it's so full of humor that it wound up being nominated,
and winning, for Best Comedy. Most of the credit for this goes to
Matt Damon, who spends most of the movie acting by himself, and just
kills it. He's funny, cool, and believable as an
astronaut-scientist. He is also able to be poignant at times without
sinking into sentimentality.
As good as Damon is, the movie gets a
strong assist from its supporting players, including Sean Bean,
Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The movie also
looks great. The scenes of Martian storms, mountains, and canyons
are stunning.
As for the science, this is a movie
that gets it right. Andy Weir's novel, on which the film is based,
is reportedly considered required-reading at NASA. It's remarkable
that the book was self-published on Amazon, chapter by chapter,
before getting discovered and becoming a best-seller. For the movie,
NASA was consulted extensively, and they were probably delighted to
be involved. “The Martian” is not just funny and thrilling, it's
inspiring. The film really celebrates the adventure and the
necessity of space exploration, so much so that I might say it verges
on NASA propaganda if I didn't agree with its message so much. As it
is, this is a refreshingly positive movie for awards season, a
non-cheesy, hopeful movie about what human beings can achieve.
4.5 stars out of 5
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