Spring break 2015 involved me driving from Charlotte to Atlanta, back to Charlotte and then back to Durham, a total of 10 hours of driving, which fit perfectly for the new 10-hour audiobook I snagged off of Amazon for the trip, this book being “The Martian.” During this time, 10 hours went by as if it were half an hour, proving “The Martian” to be one of the best pieces of literature I’ve ever come across. The completion of this masterful novel was greeted with the news that director Ridley Scott, one of the four directors I will ever call my “favorites,” was behind the camera for the film adaption of “The Martian,” with one hell of a cast as well, having Matt Damon in the lead role of Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded on Mars after his team abandons him when they believe he is killed. Even without a trailer, or any promotional material, this film was already at the top of my “most anticipated” list for 2015. Add the promotional material for the film, as well as confidence in showing the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, and what we have is one of the best theoretical films of recent memory.

In execution, “The Martian” is one of the best films of the year, unsurprisingly.

While Damon has never been one of my favorite actors, he excels as Watney and does some of his best work in years. Watney’s humorous nature comes across wonderfully, which makes the scenes that detail Watney’s vulnerability even more heartbreaking. Now, if I were to go through the entire cast and detail each of their performances, this article would be over 3,000 words long, which none of us want, so I’ll keep it short with a few details. Everyone is wonderful in the film, with standout performances from Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover and Kristen Wiig, who lets her comedic side come out a few times in desperate situations. Rounding out the impressive cast is Sebastian Stan, Michael Peña, Sebastian Stan, Jeff Daniels, Mackenzie Davis, Sean Bean and Askel Hennie.

Scott, as a director, does his best work since “Prometheus” in this film. Even as one of my favorite directors, there was a bit of an underwhelming sigh that came with “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” Scott’s previous film. “Exodus” was good, but in no way reflected what Scott could do with storytelling, not to mention the egregious whitewashing the film took in its leading cast. While “The Martian” is completely different than the former film, Scott makes quite an improvement in this film, favoring realistic sets over CGI magic that in turn, makes the film far more believable in the long run. Not to mention, this film doesn’t have a slow moving, anticlimactic screenplay along with this film.

Screenwriter Drew Goddard does something great with “The Martian,” he stays incredibly true to the novel, while also shaking some of the smaller things up to keep those who read the book entertained, without changing much of the actual story. Of course, the film isn’t perfectly adapted, simply because books like this don’t always contain the most cinematic of elements, but what’s changed is minimal and what’s changed is nicely done and flows perfectly with the story. The dialogue of the film is razor sharp, emotionally charged and intelligent as all get out, all which made the novel so wonderful, while also keeping it fresh, yet accurate.

For the past two falls, and now this one, there have been masterfully crafted space films. In 2013, we had “Gravity,” one of my all time favorite films. In 2014, we had “Interstellar,” a film more divisive than the former, but masterful nonetheless. Now, with “The Martian,” I’ve found that the film is a perfect mix between the two former films. The film combines the intensity of “Gravity” with the intellectual capacity of “Interstellar,” not to mention the inclusion of Chastain and Damon (spoiler alert, the film is almost a year old, get over it). What’s done here is fantastically assembled and astutely done.

What Scott does well, at least in the case of “Prometheus” and “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” is the use of the 3D format. Unlike most directors, Scott prefers to shoot his films with 3D cameras rather than converting it to the stereoscopic format after shooting, which occasionally, when put into the hands of someone as talented as Scott, makes all the difference, as is the case in “The Martian.” The film wonderfully captures the Martian landscape in full depth and beauty in 3D, as well as the space landscape the team find themselves in after aborting the mission, all rendered perfectly in 3D. The scenes taking place on Earth at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are a bit less amazing in 3D, as NASA headquarters aren’t the best place for the 3D format, but who can complain in a film that prides itself on accuracy.

I was a bit nervous Scott might not deliver on what could’ve been done with “The Martian,” if not simply because of the underwhelming nature of last year’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” a film that should’ve been better than it was with the directing, producing, writing and acting power behind it. This year, when prompted with similar producing, writing and acting power, Scott pulls through to create a film to remind everyone why Scott is so important in my life. “The Martian” is a hilariously intense, beautifully accurate and wonderfully assembled film that really takes the “sci-fi” genre and turns it on it’s head, focusing far more on the “sci” element, which makes it much cooler. “The Martian” is a masterful film that complements the masterful novel oh so well. The film doesn’t want to replicate the experience the novel, but simply build upon it, to make the mighty, even mightier.

5/5

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Askel Hennie, Donald Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Runtime: 141 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, injury images and brief nudity.
Also available in RealD 3D and premium large format screens

Twentieth Century Fox presents, a Scott Free/Kinberg Genre production, a Ridley Scott film, “The Martian”