The only aspect of The Martian that would be disappointing as you exit the theater, after a well spent 2 hours and 21 minutes is that it isn’t after all a true story or based on one. The inspirational and uplifting tale of human will, that you have just witnessed, is at the end of the day, fiction and not an actual ordeal even though it feels like one and you wish it were. Other than that, The Martian delivers on all fronts.
As you start the movie, catching it at breakneck speed right in the middle of an intense mission and witness what follows you begin to wonder if Ridley Scott may have missed a trick – that the movie may be rushing through its key moments rather than building up to them. But fear not, there is enough firepower in the thrusters of this particular ship to give you a thrilling ride and given all it has to showcase, it couldn’t have been directed better.
For some insane reason the movie is not playing at IMAX and my first reaction to the opening scene was – this movie shouldn’t have been shown on any other screen. However, as it plays out, the soul of this movie is not in its visuals, its wide angles of the desolate and bleakly ‘red’ landscape of Mars or the 3D effects of the dust storms on the planet. Those are merely elements in an otherwise complex compound of intelligence, emotions and the will to survive. While beautifully rendered and worthy of a real 3D experience, there is much more to appreciate about The Martian than just that.
Good writing with wry humor injected into even the most hopeless situations adds much appreciated thrust to an already powerful script and the combination is satisfying to say the least. Especially the dialogues towards the end of the movie, delivered in a no nonsense fashion resonate what each of us would have felt and taken away as lessons from the movie, despite sounding preachy or pontificating.
The performances of each and every member of this particular star studded crew – led from the front by Matt Damon but including Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeff Daniels to name a few do full justice to their characters. However, the real praise lies for the director. After a visually impressive but otherwise forgettable expedition with Prometheus, Ridley Scott gets right back in the driver’s seat and gets this spacecraft to lift off with ease. The movie is edited to a fault – not one scene feels out of place or forced and this – when there is a fair amount of techno-babble at the beginning of the movie.
I know I said it runs for 2 hours and 21 minutes but you needn’t worry about that – the director manages to get you fully absorbed and invested in its story and characters. In fact, as the tension mounts and the journey reaches its satisfying conclusion, it builds enough momentum and emotional attachment to feel as if you as the audience have, as well, lived this experience – a feat few movies can manage.
To put it simply, the Martian is an incredible story that is extremely well told and probably the best 2015 has had to offer thus far – blast off to the theaters before you miss the chance of watching it.
No comments:
Post a Comment