REVIEW: The Martian

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Reviewing a movie based on a novel is always tricky when you’ve read the source material. I try to remain impartial and evaluate the film on its own, but it’s tough when some hotshot screenwriter or egotistical director ignores the potential that’s on the page so they can do their own thing.

Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about that with The Martian – which I’m thankful for since Andy Weir’s thrilling, surprisingly funny novel is one of the best books I’ve read all year. Thanks to director Ridley Scott’s gift for visual storytelling and Drew Goddard’s phenomenal screenplay, it’s one of the most successful page-to-screen adaptations I’ve ever seen.

During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead by his crew amid the chaos of a freak storm. However, he wakes up the next morning to discover he’s alone, his crewmates are on their way back to Earth and he’s got no radio equipment. With only a few months’ worth of food and even less water, he must find a way to survive until the next team lands on Mars in four years.

Meanwhile, millions of miles away, NASA has learned the truth about Watney thanks to orbiting satellites. As a result, scores of international scientists are working to find a way to let the stranded astronaut know they’re trying to bring him home. They also debate whether to reveal Watney’s condition to the crewmates who think he’s still dead. With the whole world watching, it’s a monumental decision.

Scott is one of the modern era’s most hit-or-miss filmmakers (the same guy somehow directed both Alien and The Counselor), so I’ll admit I was nervous when I heard he was helming such a fantastic story. Fortunately, the material inspired him to bring his A-game – every scene is gorgeously presented, utilizing clever visual techniques to stage the novel’s tougher narrative elements.

For example, Scott presents Watney’s constant, loquacious journal entries as video logs, allowing the film to become a one-man show for long stretches of time. Due to Damon’s charisma and talent for sarcasm, it works beautifully. (Side note: the film’s marketing is really playing up the 3D aspect, but I don’t think it’s worth the extra money. Weird, considering the added depth was one of the biggest selling points of Prometheus, Scott’s previous space movie.)

This also points the biggest reason for the film’s success: Goddard absolutely nails the novel’s tricky tone, which deftly blends high-stakes drama and gallows humor. That was my biggest worry about turning the book into a film, and I breathed a massive sigh of relief within the first 15 minutes. I knew I was in good hands.

Sure, I could gripe about the parts Goddard cuts out (like the significantly abridged final stage of Watney’s journey), or how he takes certain lines from one character and gives them to another. But that kind of stuff is par for the course in an adaptation; movies and novels are drastically different beasts, so what works in one medium doesn’t always transfer. Honestly, if Goddard included all the cool parts of Weir’s story, the movie would be six hours long instead of two-and-a-half.

As I hinted at earlier, the movie is a miracle of casting. Somehow, each character is played by the perfect actor for the job. I’ve already sung Damon’s praises a little, but there’s no way the story works without the right guy playing Mark Watney. Too much humor and the audience doesn’t take his plight seriously; too dire and they have no reason to get invested in his success. Damon nails the difficult combination perfectly.

The actors playing his crewmates (particularly Jessica Chastain as the mission’s captain and Michael Pena as the pilot), as well as the earthbound NASA scientists (most notably Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean) perfectly match the visions of the characters I had in my head while reading the novel. As an added bonus, the book’s Lord of the Rings and Iron Man jokes are even funnier when actors from those cinematic universes are actually in the movie.

If I have one gripe about the adaptation, it’s that Goddard doesn’t have the time to properly flesh out the PR head played by Kristen Wiig. Her character gets one of the book’s biggest cheer moments, but it doesn’t show up in the movie. Oh, well. I’ll call it an even trade since another female character gets significantly more to do in the film’s climax than she does in the book.

It’s no wonder NASA put its stamp of approval on The Martian, allowing the production to use their logo and facilities. Weir’s novel and Scott’s adaptation are both passionate love letters to science and human curiosity, extolling the ways in which we use them to solve life-or-death problems and bring people together. If nothing else, I’m just thankful for a big-budget Hollywood movie that reminds viewers how cool it is to be smart.

The Martian is rated PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity.

Grade: A-