In recent times Ridley Scott has found it very difficult to create a quality film that will be regarded as one of the year's very best. Despite his commendable consistency and considerable talent at creating a visually wondrous feature-length film, his most recent efforts (The Counsellor, Exodus: Gods and Kings) have been massive failures due to the piss-poor screenplays he was given. The Martian is based off of a novel with the same name written by Andy Weir which was adapted to a screenplay by Drew Goddard.
The Martian tells the tale of Mark Watney, a NASA astronaut, who after a fierce storm is left behind on Mars by his crew who assumed he was dead after being struck by debris. Alone and millions of miles from home, all Watney has is his optimism, his smarts and sheer force of will to survive on a planet where food can not grow. This storyline runs parallel with the rescue mission NASA are trying to coordinate back on Earth once they find out that presumed dead Mark is still very much alive.
Like every Ridley Scott film to date The Martian is a true beauty to behold. The incredible cinematography, practical and visual effects come together and make Mars look similarly convincing and beautiful. In fact, this movie is so good looking and so visually compelling that I am actually convinced that NASA gave Ridley Scott permission to shoot this film on location on Mars! Jokes aside, I expected this movie to be an aesthetic success as even the terrible films Ridley Scott has made in recent years (The Counsellor, Exodus) have been well lit, well shot and strikingly good looking flicks. But The Martian has so much more to offer and is by far Ridley Scott's best film in years.
Part of this is due to the immensely funny screenplay written by Drew Goddard. The man clearly understands comedy and a lot of the dialogue in this film is genuinely effective at being comedic and making light of some of the seemingly terrible and impossible things that happen. In fact my favourite aspect of The Martian was the comedic and light tone both Ridley Scott and Drew Goddard adopted with their directing and screenwriting alike. This film could have seen Watney jump from one disaster to another. It could've been a depressing film with an unforgiving slow pace and a negative tone. The Martian is anything but that.
It's not depressing. It's hopeful, optimistic, it's about the power of human will and groups of people coming together to do what is morally right. As a result, The Martian is a truly enjoyable and a refreshing experience simply because it consciously chooses to make light of Watney's impossible and hopeless situation. The positive outlook this movie has perfectly mirrors Watney's personality. In a movie like this whereby the protagonist has to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, as an audience member you have to feel a connection with him/her and route for him/her to succeed.
Matt Damon's terrific lead performance (which utterly radiates acting quality) made the character of Watney extremely likeable and relatable. As a result, the film was very thrilling and suspense-filled in scenes whereby Watney was in incredible danger. Therefore, when it was trying to be comedic The Martian worked. When it was meant to be tension-filled, suspenseful and dramatic, it really worked. Damon's performance isn't one which is "showboaty"; he doesn't have 5 or 6 power scenes in which he cries directly at the camera. Instead, he's great in that very subtle way which creeps up on you towards the film's finale.
And even when the screen time was not dedicated to Matt Damon, I was still having a great time watching The Martian. The huge supporting cast is flooded with talented actors who all know their place and all play their roles very, very well. Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain and Sean Bean all were great in their roles, but the one who stole the limelight every time the lens was on him was Chiwetel Ejiofor. His performance is comedically sharp and dramatically focused, and his character is for sure the most entertaining to watch interact behind Mark Watney. Even when the focus shifted from the riveting survival film on Mars, I was still captivated by the rescue mission being coordinated on Earth.
That is thanks to Ridley Scott's magnificent handle on pacing via his direction. It's so good to be able to go to a movie theatre and watch a great science fiction thriller helmed by the man who directed Alien over 38 years ago. His direction keeps The Martian consistently entertaining; there's never a dull moment in this film. No matter whether the film is on Earth, Mars or somewhere in-between, The Martian is such an easy film to sit down and watch. My one flaw with this film is the occasional over-reliance on science-themed exposition. It completely works with Matt Damon as his character is stuck alone documenting his adventure, but the stuff down on Earth became a little too bogged down in it for my liking.
Regardless, I still love this movie. It's entertaining, it works as both a light comedy and an action thriller. But it is Matt Damon's excellent lead performance, the comedic tone adopted in Drew Goddard's screenwriting and Ridley Scott's assured direction which makes The Martian a complete and utter success. It is for sure one of the best films of 2015 and if this film is any true indication, the rest of this year is (hopefully) going to bless us with some truly great films worthy to sit alongside this one:
Rating - A
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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