THE MARTIAN // My New Best Friend

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I am writing this a little past one o’clock in the morning. Of course, I should be sleeping right now, but I can’t—not without telling you about THE MARTIAN. This is how much you need to know I loved this movie. (Also, just so you know, I will be referencing my sister a bit in this review. Since the two of us watched this movie together, I think it’s only fair.) 

The Story. In a nutshell, Mark Watney, our brilliant botanist astronaut, gets stranded on Mars when his crew evacuates the planet during a storm. Injured and alone, with limited rations and equipment designed only for a thirty-day mission, Mark must use his resourceful mind to survive until NASA can send help, which will take about four years. But first he has to find a way to let NASA know he’s alive. 

Right away, I was drawn in by the premise, because it seems obvious that Mark is a dead man. So I was curious to find out if (and how) he would manage to survive. On top of that, having been obsessed with Sigmund Brouwer’s THE MARS DIARIES as a small person, I have a large soft spot for stories set on Mars. Basically, there was really no way I was not going to watch this movie. 

Primal Fear. As my lovely sister wisely pointed out, one problem with space-related movies is that they can more easily tap into certain primal fears like lack of oxygen, complete isolation, or sudden and horrible death—legitimate, powerful sources of terror. While it can be fun to watch a scary movie, disturbing elements like these often get overused, which can reduce enjoyment and distract from the main point of the story. Movies like GRAVITY and INTERSTELLAR capitalize too much on the primal fear inherent in their stories, in our opinion, so my sister and I had worried THE MARTIAN would end up doing the same. Fortunately, those involved with making THE MARTIAN seemed to understand that life-threatening stuff—like inability to breathe, bodily injury, and the threat of exposure—are already powerful enough without needing to ramp up the tension with dramatics. In other words, viewers do not need to be fed a constant stream of immediate terror in order to understand that the characters are in dire peril. 

The Humor. THE MARTIAN has comic relief down to a science. Mark may be in a horrible position, but the well-balanced humor allows us to feel more settled when Murphy’s Law strikes again and again. If Mark feels safe enough to joke about his seemingly imminent death, then we, as the viewers, can feel safe enough to enjoy the movie. Or something like that. Of course, it certainly does help that Mark’s Watney’s sense of humor is similar to mine, which means I relate to him about a bazillion percent (numbers not accurate). 

Mark Watney. Mark is pretty much everything that I look for in a main character. He is clever and resourceful, and he has a strong, indomitable spirit. Instead of caving to depression and fear—which would be understandable, given his circumstances—he accepts the odds against him and then decides, in his matter-of-fact way, not to die. 

One of the biggest things he has going for him is his ability to think long term while handling problems as they arise, one after another. As much as his situation is unfortunate and relatively uncomfortable, he still finds ways to enjoy his work and his life, and he finds humor in even the darkest moments. Most importantly, the fact that he can find a legal reason for why he should be considered a space pirate makes him my new hero. So there’s that. 

The Pacing. Unlike GRAVITY and INTERSTELLAR, where the plots feel like a series of bad events strung together, THE MARTIAN mixes both good and bad in healthy doses. There are times when Murphy’s Law is evident all over the place, but there are also times when it’s tempting to believe there will be no further setbacks. The strength and hope of the good moments make the disasters so much more awful and demoralizing. And vice versa. This storytelling style is powerful, I assure you. 

***MILDLY SPOILERISH SECTION***The Message. Boiled down, the message of this movie is that even one life—one single life—is priceless. No one sits down and tries to decide if Mark Watney is worth the money it will take to save him. No one wonders if they can factor him into their budget and still make ends meet. Instead, those on the other end are willing to put all their time and resources into bringing him home, even if it means potentially bankrupting the space program. I can’t tell you how much I love that message, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that this message isn’t drowned out by unnecessary dramatics.***MILDLY SPOILERISH SECTION OVER***

The Side Characters. While we get to know Mark Watney very well, we also get to know a bunch of the side characters, and the movie would not be as good without them. Despite the fact that there are a lot of them, and we can’t jump into all their heads, they still feel established and human. We get to see enough of their motivations, quirks, and character traits to feel we can understand and relate to them. Also, it is enormously satisfying to watch a movie with a solid cast of frighteningly smart people who all contribute to the plot. Translation: They are my precious babies and I love them all to pieces. *hugs characters*

The Feel. I so appreciated the feel of the story. It is cerebral and powerful, clever and organic. Instead of only handing us tense action scene after tense action scene, we are given the time to appreciate the small details that make the world feel real, like the shots we spend watching Mark inventory food or make fertilizer or check on the potatoes he attempts to grow in the Marian soil. These moments make the story tangible, and they also make it so that, when we do have an action scene, it is all the more striking. But the plot also shows that tension is not necessarily correlative to loss of life or a show of blood and guts. Sometime the quietest moments are the most tense—sometimes the simplest actions and details carry the most meaning. 

Content Warning. There is a fair amount of language, including a couple uses of the “f” word. There is also a brief scene of male nudity (backside only). 

In conclusion. All in all, this is perhaps my new favorite movie of all time (aside from MISS AUSTEN REGRETS, which will always be in a class of its own). THE MARTIAN is a work of art with complex characters, brilliant gallows humor, and a stunning landscape. I highly recommend it. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you seen THE MARTIAN? What did you think of it? Have you read the book? (I've been meaning to, but I haven't had a chance yet.) What interesting movies have you watched lately?