FILM REVIEW: The Martian (12A)
Released : 30th September 2015
Rated : 12A
Running Time: 141 mins
BBFCinsight: Infrequent strong language, injury detail
Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) gets left behind on the planet Mars when a manned mission goes disastrously wrong. Stranded and alone Mark, a trained biologist, get to work growing his own crops for food and planning his escape.
He’s got plenty of time because it will be four years before a rescue mission can reach him.
Mark manages to get a message back to NASA who decide to stage a rescue. With time against them they must work fast to get ‘Martian’ Mark home before food supplies run out.
REVIEW: While the subject and plot had lots of offer in terms of suspense and drama the film is a great let down. At one point the words ‘unless something goes wrong’ are uttered and in the very next scene things do go wrong completely wrecking any suspense that existed.
Then there are the parts of the film that made me think ‘Is that real?’. For example when they show the NASA control room and the operatives get up from their control desks to visit the kitchen area located behind the giant screens for a comfort break – do they really have a kitchen area with ovens, sink, etc…. in the NASA flight control room?
When Mark accidently blows up the air lock to the space station on the Martian surface it’s OK because he simply repairs it with polythene and gaffer tape and uses the back door! At least watching this film I learnt that space stations have back doors and that gaffer tape can create a seal strong enough to keep the Martian atmosphere at bay!
In order to extend the range of the Martian rover Mark cuts a hole in its roof and puts some form of ‘bag’ (we’re not told what purpose the bag serves) on the roof, however the repair job is so good that he can take the helmet of his space suit off inside the rover.
Most farcical of all is when Mark makes his escape from the planet and is told to take the top off his space craft (apparently it is only held on with a few bolts) and then cover the massive hole with what appear to be a used parachute. In the void of space the force of the wind (air?) rushing over the parachute blows it off! But there is no air in space so how did the parachute start fluttering and blow off?
I did not enjoy watching this film, if you want a excitement, suspense and drama don’t bother watching this film, instead go to the hardware store, buy some paint and put it on your wall – watching the paint dry is far more exciting than watching ‘The Martian’.