The Martian

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2016)

The film I will be discussing today is Ridley Scott's 2015 The Martian. The Martian is an action/drama film starring Matt Damon as Mark Whatney. Mark Whatney is an astronaut stranding on Mars after his crew aborted their mission because of inclement weather. Whatney was hit with debris during the storm and the crew thought he was killed because he was not responding to them when they tried to make contact to him. Whatney is then forced to make 31 days of food last four years if he is able to make contact with NASA. Fortunately Mark is a botanist and is able to make potatoes grow on a "planet where nothing grows." Being 52 million miles away from Earth a lot can grow wrong and Mark has his fair of setbacks. From the hob malfunctioning to blowing himself up to his crops dying. He is able to make contact with NASA and which in turns figures out a way to keep Mark alive until a crew can reach him. When the launch to get food to Mark fails they turn to an unlikely hero Rich Purnell played by Donald Glover for an idea so send Whatney's original crew back to get him. This comes with dangers as NASA does not support this dangerous mission it is then left up to the crew to make the decision whether to risk their lives to save him. His crew consisted of Commander Melissa Lewis played by Jessica Chastain, Rick Martinez played by Michael Pena, Beth Johannsen played by Kate Mara, Chris Beck played by Sabastian Stan, and Alex Vogel played by Askel Hennie. The theme to The Martian is survival against all odds. The whole point to the film is for Mark to find a way to survive on Mars, without sufficient food, water, or even human contact. Mark using his knowledge of botany was able to grow potatoes on Mars using surface dirt, human waste, and potatoes he already had until the hob malfunctioned and he lost his crops. Before that he had plenty of potatoes. This was Mark's way to survive against all odds, he was even able to control fire on the planet where controlling elements does not exist.
Mark was also able to use what was left behind to contact NASA a feat that was against him and failure after failure he did not give up when most people would. His thirst to live kept him alive and he was able to make contact with them. Survival against all odds. In the end Mark was able to sling shot himself into space to intercept with the crew's ship. When he launched there was no promise that this would work and no second chances would be given. How many people would live out the rest of their days on a different planet and would risk their life in an instant to be saved and make it back home? Survival against all odds. That's what Whatney chose.
A film with another plot line but same thing was 127 Hours. Aron Ralston played by James Franco was a mountain climber trapped alone on a hike. He took it to cutting off a limb in order to have a chance to survive. During moments like these in films you have to ask yourself if you would be willing to go to these limits to survive, if dying would not be easier than finding a way to survive.
A couple techniques used in the film to enhance the scenes were angles and lighting. One scene in particular I can think of where the angles were on point was when Whatney awoke from being struck during the storm. The camera was close enough to see his helmet in the dirt and how his body landed. You then see him awaken, camera in his face to see his emotion and distress. The lighting was impeccable showing how it would look on Mars and in space in comparison to how the atmosphere looks on Earth.
A film like this that is set on another planet, the director had to make Mars on Earth. He did a very good job at this and you could feel the emotions of all the characters. All the actors did an amazing job capturing the moments they were acting out. It is human instinct to want to survive but when the chances are so low the easiest thing is to let go and except. The hard part is to try. Surviving against all odds is a task not all people can manage. It is a great feet to overcome and even just seeing someone able to this on film gives a wonderful feeling of humanity and what one person is capable of doing is amazing.