Faithful To The Novel & A Fantastic Film

Rating: 9/10 (17 October 2015)

Hollywood seems to have a strong affinity for adaptations, some good and some not so much. It was with some interest then that I came to The Martian then. Adapted from the novel by Andy Weir, featuring an all-star cast and directed by Alien and Blade Runner director Ridley Scott, it certainly promised to be interesting and potentially good as well. Did it live up to those expectations?
Oh yes it did.
Part of the film's success lies in its casting. Matt Damon was well cast as astronaut Mark Watney, the botanist on NASA's Ares Three mission who, thought dead by his crew members when a dust storm forces them to abort their mission, finds himself in a struggle to survive with minimal supplies and little chance for rescue. Damon perfectly captures Watney: determined, ingenious and good humored, but not a perfect human being by any means. It's something that's endearing as we see him become frustrated, angry at himself for his mistakes while also being aware that he has little time (or anything else for that matter) to waste if he's going to survive. The humor leads to some of the film's best moments while also getting across in some of the film's quieter moments the sometimes sheer loneliness of being the only human on an entire planet. It's an effective performance and one that anchors the film.
Backing Damon up is a strong supporting cast. Highlights includes the ever excellent Jessica Chastain as Ares Three's mission commander Lewis, Jeff Daniels as the NASA administrator, Sean Bean as mission control flight director and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor who is overseeing the Ares missions. Even smaller roles are well cast including Kristen Wigg as NASA spokeswoman Annie Montrose as well as Benedict Wong and Donald Glover as scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Together they bring the Earth-based and non-Mars space sections of the film to life and do so rather nicely which helps the film immensely.
It also helps that there are some stunning production values on display as well. The highlight of the film visually is one of the best cinematic renderings of Mars yet produced through a combination of filming in one of the most Mars like locations here on Earth (Wadi Rum in Jordan) as well as a combination of special effects. The special effects in general are a highlight of the film including striking visuals of Mars from space as well as some impressive looking space hardware including the Hermes which transports the crew to Mars and back again. The production design and costume work extrapolates on current NASA plans and technology and comes with realistic takes on what might actually be used in a mission like the one portrayed in the film. All of this falls under the direction of Ridley Scott who presents, like he did with Blade Runner, a fascinating vision of the near-future though one that is perhaps more likely to come to pass. Together, they bring the film to life.
The icing on the cake though may well be the script which, as I hoped, stayed pretty faithful to Andy Weir's novel. The tone, humor and the overwhelming majority of major events from the novel are all reproduced here though in some cases incidents are simplified due to screen-time, often I suspect due to the lack of time for the some technical exposition that Weir used in the novel. In other places, the script enhances the drama of events, especially in its final sequences, all of which is forgivable as they do add to the drama as well as changing things up just a little bit for those who've read the novel. Rarely has a film captured its source material as well as this film does, especially its aforementioned climax which reproduced all of the tension and excitement of its prose counterpart.
What's important though is that it captures the heart of Weir's novel. At its heart, The Martian is the tale of one human being on a desolate world in a struggle to survive. This is a tale of how we are capable of surmounting the seemingly impossible with a little know how and MacGyver like ingenuity and creativity. Yet, and perhaps just as importantly, this is also a story of human fallibility as often Watney's decisions and actions lead to unexpected consequences that he has to deal with. The result of all this is that, as cinematic adaptations go, it's one of the most successful efforts in recent memory.
The Martian then is a success by almost every measurement. It features a strong performance from its lead actor backed up by a strong supporting cast, features equally strong production values that bring near-future space exploration to life wonderfully while also remaining largely faithful to the events and soul of its source material. As both an adaptation and as a film on its own, it stands up very well indeed. What more can you ask of it?