Thankfully, Ridley Scott’s interpretation of this very successful novel has ticked all the boxes to ensure that the dramatic events of the book are handled deftly and stay true to the original source…
There are three stages of emotion upon hearing the news that a book you love is being made into a film. First of all, you feel excited that you’re going to see this story come to life on the silver screen. Second comes the awful premonition that the actors, director, studio or whoever is going to royally mess it up. Thirdly, you experience massive disappointment when the film invariably doesn’t live up to your expectations.
However, there is a secret other option for the third stage which is leaving the theatre with a huge smile on your face as you race home to look up when the Blu-ray disc of said film is scheduled for release. I have to admit to more commonly experiencing the original third stage but occasionally, those responsible pull it all together and produce a polished performance that does fans proud.
Matt Damon stars in this visually stunning masterpiece.
‘The Martian’ is set in the not too distant future where human space travel has now advanced to the stage where manned missions are being made to the planet of Mars. Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, a member of the Ares 3 mission (the third on Mars) that inadvertently gets left behind when the team have to escape back to Earth early due a savage dust storm. With no hope of rescue for 4 years, Watney has to figure out how to survive in a shelter designed to last a few weeks with minimal food all whilst trying to re-establish contact with Earth.
Like with Tom Hanks in ‘Castaway’, the film relies heavily on Damon acting on his own for a lot of the time. Thankfully, he manages to keep the optimistic humour and likeability of the character from the book but never without losing the realism of the situation that he finds himself in. This is especially evident towards the latter stages of the film where the magnitude of what he’s experienced comes through. The supporting cast is rich in talent too with Jeff Daniels as NASA’s stern Chief and Chiwetel Ejiofor as one of the directors of the mission. Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan and Aksel Hennie all feature as Damon’s fellow crew members and there’s an excellent turn by Donald Glover as one of NASA’s Astronomers who discovers a risky plan to get Damon home.
The unsung star in all of this is the mix of CGI and the desert of Rum Wadi in Jordan which provides the epic backdrop of the Red Planet. Anything set in space is obviously prime material for CGI but the film doesn’t go over the top. Instead it focuses on the human element of the story whilst still giving us the stunning deserted plains of Mars, punctuated by the rocky mountains and ridges.
Being a 12A, there’s a few choice words in there but the charming character of Mark Watney is such that it doesn’t really offend, though you may want to leave the younger children at home. All in all, it’s exactly what you might expect from a star studded cast and notable director; a slick and thrilling film that at just under two and a half hours keeps you gripped until the very end. Of course, as with any adaption of a novel, some scenes had to be left out but as far as adaptions go, this is one of the very best that I’ve read and then seen.
Author – Steve, Bristol store
