The Martian

Matt Damon in "The Martian"

"The Martian" has everything going for it: a compelling narrative, a charismatic movie star at its center, incredibly well-realized special effects, and most welcoming, an ample amount of humor. An astronaut left and presumed dead on our dusty orange neighbor in the solar system, Mars, doesn't exactly scream comedy, yet the director, Ridley Scott, has decided that rather than playing on the mysteries of space, and the tragedy of solitude and abandonment, to ground "The Martian" in humanity and science. The science, as far as I'm concerned, is real (as real as it can be), the emotions are real (people make jokes, make mistakes, do the wrong thing), and therefore the stakes become real. Our hero is Mark Watney (Matt Damon), a botanist/ astronaut. His problems are given to us like a shot, quick and painless. How can he make water in a planet with no water? How can he make his own food on soil that can't sustain it? How long can he survive with the resources he has? The best parts of "The Martian" are watching Watney problem solve, and listening to him talk to himself, shouting out into the void, hoping the world (aka NASA) is listening. We want Watney to survive because we believe he can survive, that he's smart enough, and that he has the skills to do so. "The Martian" is based on a science fiction novel of the same name by Andy Weir, which was initially rejected several times by various publishers, only to find life and success through the blogging platform Tumblr. Weir is a science nerd, and his novel was consumed with the technicalities of space travel and the logistics of actual manned missions on Mars. (Perhaps something not far off in our future?) The film doesn't shy away from the science, and Drew Goddard, who adapted the novel, does a remarkable job balancing the way we come to understand Watney's predicament, while also showing us Watney as a human being. Watching "The Martian" I couldn't help but think about "Gravity", another space opera with a lone astronaut trying to survive, yet the two movies couldn't be more different. "Gravity" is a poem, where "The Martian" is a short story. And also, Sandra Bullock WAS "Gravity" while "The Martian" has a sprawling ensemble cast, with actors ranging from Donald Glover and Kristin Wiig, to Jeff Daniels and Jessica Chastain. It uses this cast very well, and the act of telling not only Damon's story on Mars, but also the nightmare of the NASA headquarters on Earth, and the solemness of the rest of the crew on their way back to Earth is very effective in it's way of telling the story from multiple angles and perspectives. Even still, Damon remains the movies beating heart, and his Mark Watney is a wonderful hero to root for. We problem solve right along with him, and we laugh and get frustrated. Our hopes ebb and flow as the characters' does. And by taking its audience seriously, and giving us characters who work out their issues not through sentimentality and character tropes but through human emotion and scientific facts, "The Martian" rises and surpasses much of the Hollywood glut that is so prevalent on movie screens today.