by Brooke
Last Friday I saw The Martian in 3D. I had read a little more than half of the book when I went to the theater to watch Mark Watney’s Mars adventure. Here’s my short-and-sweet movie review with as few spoilers as possible.
THE ACTION
The Martian is space porn and landscape porn at its best. Normally I’d never say this, but do yourself a favor and see it in 3D. Regular post-process conversion 3D movies are a guaranteed headache for me and the jerkiness drives me nuts. The Martian was filmed with RED 3D cameras and it’s seamless.
The Martian is space porn and landscape porn at its best. Normally I’d never say this, but do yourself a favor and see it in 3D. Regular post-process conversion 3D movies are a guaranteed headache for me and the jerkiness drives me nuts. The Martian was filmed with RED 3D cameras and it’s seamless.
The movie is tense and action-packed. In a nutshell, a manned mission to Mars goes awry and botanist-astronaut Mark Watney is left behind. He puzzles together unlikely ways to science Mars into a habitable environment with only a few tools at his disposal. We get to watch him grow food in his own poop, create water from inorganic compounds and blow himself up a couple of times. All the while we know the clock is ticking, and every setback is heart wrenching.
THE ACTING
Matt Damon’s performance as Mark Watney is spot-on. He brings both gravitas and wry humor to the role. The movie does give us displays of emotion that Watney’s journal omits in the book, and Damon nails these short bursts of hopelessness.
The rest of the cast does an excellent job of interpreting their roles, however I do have a few gripes about other casting choices and character changes.
Matt Damon’s performance as Mark Watney is spot-on. He brings both gravitas and wry humor to the role. The movie does give us displays of emotion that Watney’s journal omits in the book, and Damon nails these short bursts of hopelessness.
The rest of the cast does an excellent job of interpreting their roles, however I do have a few gripes about other casting choices and character changes.
For one, Chiwetel Ejiofor is fantastic in his role of “Vincent” Kapoor. But couldn’t they have cast an Indian actor? Venkat Kapoor’s character was very clearly written to be a man of Indian Hindu background, and many brilliant South Asian actors could have filled the role.
Kristen Wiig could have given a powerful performance as Annie Montrose, but the script edits cut off the firecracker PR guru’s balls. Her role in the story is lost, and she seems on the verge of tears in every scene.
Jessica Chastain seems like an odd choice for the tough Commander Lewis. Her honeyed voice, sweet smile and uber-feminine appearance and body language irked me for someone who’s meant to be a no-nonsense military commander. I felt like another opportunity was missed to cast a less “Hollywood” actor.
Kristen Wiig could have given a powerful performance as Annie Montrose, but the script edits cut off the firecracker PR guru’s balls. Her role in the story is lost, and she seems on the verge of tears in every scene.
Jessica Chastain seems like an odd choice for the tough Commander Lewis. Her honeyed voice, sweet smile and uber-feminine appearance and body language irked me for someone who’s meant to be a no-nonsense military commander. I felt like another opportunity was missed to cast a less “Hollywood” actor.
THE MOVIE VS. THE BOOK
Overall the movie is mostly faithful to the book, though it does take some liberties. Viewers who did not read the book may enjoy the movie a little more than those of us who went in knowing how much more meat there is to Mark Watney’s story.
Unlike the book, the focus of the movie is really on how to get Watney home, rather than on his convoluted methods of survival on a hostile planet. This means producers had to edit out most of Watney’s journal entries and scientific breakthroughs, and they even cut a few dramatic events. There is no other way to fit the book into an exciting 2-hour thriller, but as a consequence Watney’s brilliance is underemphasized.
Overall the movie is mostly faithful to the book, though it does take some liberties. Viewers who did not read the book may enjoy the movie a little more than those of us who went in knowing how much more meat there is to Mark Watney’s story.
Unlike the book, the focus of the movie is really on how to get Watney home, rather than on his convoluted methods of survival on a hostile planet. This means producers had to edit out most of Watney’s journal entries and scientific breakthroughs, and they even cut a few dramatic events. There is no other way to fit the book into an exciting 2-hour thriller, but as a consequence Watney’s brilliance is underemphasized.
IN CONCLUSION: GO SEE IT
The Martian has all the thrill of a summer blockbuster with the brains of a science channel documentary, scientific inaccuracies aside. The movie will get your heart pumping and pique your brain cells. This is high-level entertainment. I highly recommend it to all science, sci-fi and movie lovers. Now go read the book.
Watch the new trailer for The Martian by Ellen DeGeneres here:
The Martian has all the thrill of a summer blockbuster with the brains of a science channel documentary, scientific inaccuracies aside. The movie will get your heart pumping and pique your brain cells. This is high-level entertainment. I highly recommend it to all science, sci-fi and movie lovers. Now go read the book.
Watch the new trailer for The Martian by Ellen DeGeneres here: