‘The Martian’ offers storytelling rarely seen in sci-fi films

Date: 10/9/2015

To call “The Martian” science fiction might be a bit confusing to some. There are no alien threats, no hyper drives, no lightsabers or ray guns.

Instead “The Martian” falls into that rare genre of storytelling that is more speculative fiction. It takes the realistic technology of the near future – and actual science – to weave a compelling fictional story.

Set in an undetermined time in the future, the story begins on Mars where a NASA team is conducting its first expedition to the planet. A storm forces an early departure, but not all of the crew is able to escape. One astronaut botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is believed to have been killed when he is struck by the communications array.

Forced to leave him for dead, the crew departs Mars, not knowing that he is alive. He is not dead, though, and Watney regains consciousness the next day to find out he is wounded and alone.

Luckily for him the base camp established by the expedition is relatively unscathed by the storm and Watney quickly assesses his situation. The next expedition to the planet is scheduled in four years and the question is whether or not he can manage to survive until then.

His odds improve when he discovers there are real potatoes in the food stores and he begins to grow potatoes. Another lucky break is when a NASA analyst notices through satellite photos of the expedition’s camp that the rover vehicle has been moving.

With the realization that Watney is still alive, the story shifts back to Earth and how to rescue him.

Director Ridley Scott has had a long career and among his films are “Blade Runner,” "Alien,” “Black Hawk Down” and “Prometheus.” He seems attracted to large complicated stories and while “The Martian” has a lot of moving pieces, it is also one of Scott’s most intimate pictures. Much of the screen time is devoted to just one person – Watney – and his efforts to stay alive.

Scott has assembled an impressive ensemble cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristin Wiig (in a non-comic role), Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Michael Pena and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among others.  Most of them get some good moments in the story, especially Ejiofor and Bean who act as the conscience for NASA.

The focus of the story is Watney and Matt Damon does very well in the lead role. In a story that could call for some big emotional scenes – he is stranded on Mars, after all –  Scott and Damon go for a very understated approach.  Watney is scared and understands his situation, but he never allows his fear to get in the way of finding a solution, which is a refreshing characterization.

The effects are as well done as the rest of the production and one walks away with the notion that this is indeed what Mars is like.

While it has a running time of two hours and 22 minutes, the story is well paced and doesn’t drag.

 Presented in both flat and 3-D version, I was happy to see it flat. I think the 3-D effects would have distracted from the story and performances.