The Martian: Funny, thrilling, and ultimately satisfying

Rating: 7/10 (4 October 2015)

The Martian, as a fantastic technical achievement that paints eerie, orange-soaked portraits of the bleak plains of Mars, is one hell of a film. There is many a shot that is breathtaking, inducing copious amounts of awe without resorting to visual exploitation. Scott takes a certain pride in being able to remove us from the theatre, placing us in a strange new world, that is not only lonely, but pristine and even beautiful. But what allows The Martian to go above and beyond your average planetary escapade is that it is not simply a technical achievement; it is well-written, intimate, and much more rewarding than I could have imagined.
The Martian begins as Mark Watney (Matt Damon), a NASA botanist, is lost in a massive dust storm. His crew, presuming him dead, leave the planet, leaving him stranded with no means of contacting them, or anyone for that matter. From there, the film is one big problem-solving session, as Watney does self-surgery, figures out how to grow food (which involves feces), and eventually figures out how to contact NASA, while dealing with setbacks, including disco music, explosions, and of course, despair. Damon is excellent as Watney, giving his character a charming, irresistible optimism, a sense of humour, and a clever resourcefulness, but while his wisecracking is the film's greatest asset, it also may be a weakness as well. Perhaps Goddard, or Weir for that matter could have allowed his character to touch a bit more substantially on existential matters, or even to show his obvious despair to the tiniest degree. But I suppose that there is a fine line between being emotionally superhuman, and a whiny slug, perhaps even too fine to pinpoint a reasonable middle. Despite this, Damon's character is inimitable and fun to watch.
NASA eventually figures out, to their consternation, that they have left an astronaut on Mars, sparking off a series of frantic grasping at whatever straws pop out of nowhere. The sequences on Earth are much less interesting than the ones on Mars, often characterized by space movie clichés. We are once again exposed to pleasantly familiar things, including the infamous control room, the boardrooms, the press conferences, the conservative CEO, the super smart (yet super skinny) dude who just happens to be the greatest genius the world has ever seen, international fervour, etc. However, just because they are clichéd does not mean that they aren't fun. Sure, sometimes you might find yourself rolling your eyes and saying "Where the heck did originality in cinema go?", but most of them are lively enough to allow you to forget that they are, in fact, standard space-film fare.
The Martian is at its best, and its most beautiful when it is actually on Mars, following the main character as he figures small things out, often to the exhilaration and laughter of the audience. But as I've said before, the loneliness that he must have felt on Mars is not addressed. The days turn into months, which turn into years, and he is barely even fazed by his lack of human interaction. A little bit of philosophy, or existential pondering would have remedied this, but I don't really mind.
What I did mind was the Deus Ex Machina. Everything seems to happen exactly at the right time, in the right place, and in the right proximity for it to be used to its full extent. There is a tremendous amount of luck pulling the strings in this film, and it makes the film feel rather artificial. However, the film's extraordinary premise needed the Deus Ex Machina to work, and considering the raw intensity and wonder of the ending, I believe that it did.
The ending of the film was one that I doubt that I will ever forget. It is such a pulse-pounding, gorgeous blend of wonder, intensity, and sheer awesomeness, that it has wedged itself firmly and unshakably in my mind. I will not spoil it, but I will say that it has one of the most beautiful shots that I have seen so far this year. Or the last year, as a matter of fact. Thus, I will say this: The Martian is a wonderful and harrowing piece of planetary cinema, bringing itself to the forefront of 2015 in cinema with an excellent performance by Matt Damon, astounding visual artistry from Scott, and a powerful, beautiful, and intense conclusion.