What would you do if you were stranded on a planet, 140 million miles away from Earth, completely alone? In the 2015 film, The Martian, based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, botanist-turned-astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, finds himself in this exact situation. Presumed dead on Mars and abandoned by his crew after a mission goes wrong, Watney must find a way to grow food, survive, reestablish communication with Earth, and all while planning his mission to get home. Directed by renowned filmmaker Ridley Scott—who also directed Alien and Gladiator—The Martian remains one of the most impressive and enjoyable sci-fi films of the century.
A selling point of the film is its scientific realism and accuracy. This might make The Martian sound like a dull or confusing technical information dump, but the film does an excellent job of balancing science with entertainment. The science is detailed enough to feel believable and engaging without ever becoming overwhelming or distracting, while still providing enough information for the viewer to clearly understand what is actually happening. The film is brilliantly able to teach the audience real scientific concepts about Mars and space travel while remaining entertaining and widely accessible. Although the story is fictional, it is satisfying to know that the solutions Watney comes up with to survive are grounded in real scientific principles, making his survival feel earned and not convenient or unbelievable.
This focus on science and realism also helps ground the film and turn it into a problem-solving, perseverance-driven survival story. Instead of relying on giant action scenes or fights with three-eyed green aliens, The Martian builds tension through constant reminders of human error, limited resources, and the harsh environment of Mars. Every small decision Watney makes means the difference between life and death, which keeps the film suspenseful and compelling throughout his time on Mars.
Perhaps the strongest part of the film, however, is Matt Damon’s outstanding performance as the stranded astronaut Mark Watney. Being quite literally the only human being left on an entire planet, Watney spends the film alone and without human interaction and is on screen for a majority of the film, yet Damon delivers a performance that never feels repetitive or stale. He does an amazing job of making the audience fall in love with and root for Watney’s survival, and much of the film’s success can be credited to his strong performance. No matter the situation, whether he is about to starve to death, dealing with catastrophic equipment failures, or facing life-threatening accidents, Watney remains upbeat, cracks genuinely funny jokes, and refuses to give up. For some viewers, the film’s humor and surprisingly lighthearted tone (and its unexpected music needle drops) may feel out of place and decrease the tension. However, this optimism is absolutely necessary, as Watney has no other choice but to stay positive to survive, and the stakes are already clear through the film’s simple but terrifying premise. Plus, what fun would it be to watch a pessimistic, tiresome character on screen for nearly two and a half hours?
Damon’s performance may almost be too strong, though. When the film periodically cuts back to Earth, where NASA engineers are working to bring Watney home, these scenes, while necessary to the plot, pale in comparison to the time spent on Mars, often feeling like a standard workplace drama and lacking the life-or-death urgency and visuals that make the Mars scenes so captivating and unique. Many of the supporting characters also feel forgettable and underdeveloped, making the Earth scenes feel like interruptions to the film and not essential parts of the story This is especially disappointing considering how stacked the cast is outside of Damon, with actors including Sebastian Stan, Jeff Daniels, and Donald Glover, whose talents are very much underused. When the film focuses on Watney alone on Mars, it becomes a gripping and immersive survival story where time flies by, but many of the Earth scenes feel overly long and slow the pacing.
Overall, The Martian is a triumphant, enjoyable, and surprisingly easy film to follow, even with its complex science and high stakes. This March, another film based on an Andy Weir novel, Project Hail Mary, is releasing, and after watching The Martian, it’s hard not to be excited.
Rating: 8/10
