Thanks to my vacation and time catching up on other things, I have a lot of movies to review. For once, I won't review them in the order in which I viewed them, because it doesn't matter and I'd rather give priority to the more widely interesting ones. In particular, I'd like to review the Oscar nominees before the ceremony on Sunday.
Set at some unspecified but probably near-future date, the action begins on Mars -- and I do mean action, within the first five minutes. A massive dust storm jeopardizes a small crew of astronauts. When Mark Watney (Matt Damon) gets knocked out of visible range and his suit stops sending signals, the mission commander (Jessica Chastain) reluctantly decides that they are better off presuming him dead and leaving the planet early. (Sounds familiar, but Watney doesn't blame them.) Having miraculously survived the onslaught, Watney uses his relevant knowledge, especially as a botanist, to extend his food supply, enhance his transportation capacity, and eventually establish communications with Earth. But no matter what solution the best minds in science can devise, any rescue effort will be a close shave. Manned flights to Mars take years, after all.
This is not as much of a cross between Gravity and Cast Away as I had expected. We don't have to sit through Watney being silent or talking to himself or an inanimate "friend" all the time. He does log a lot of video journal entries, and almost half the screen time goes to others involved with NASA. The impressive cast, playing fairly developed characters, includes Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a rather comical Donald Glover.
Don't get the impression that Glover provides the only comic relief either. If anything in this movie outweighs the acting and effects, it's the dialog. Watney has a way with words as well as science. Just brace yourself for a bit of swearing, which he does not rein in for the public's sake, because it really is frustrating. Also a lot of nerdiness, because how could there not be? Get used to hearing "sol" in reference to a day on Mars.
If you're looking for an ethical dilemma, there is one: When pretty much everyone on Earth knows that Watney is alive and alone on Mars, his crewmates en route to Earth don't, because a honcho at NASA fears the consequences of emotional distraction. I'm undecided on the wisdom of his decision myself.
The movie is rather an emotional roller coaster. Watney never seems upbeat or downbeat for long at a stretch, tho that could be a defense mechanism. In addition to suspense and light-heartedness, it has a pretty heartwarming undercurrent: How often do that many people care deeply about the well-being of one person?
So much for my idea that director Ridley Scott didn't have any more great movies left in him. TM may not have the awesome cinematography of Gravity or the philosophical creativity of Interstellar, but it matches them both overall. I can't say which has the realest science behind it, but at least the TM makers consulted experts.
It is my second favorite nominee for the year. Since Bridge of Spies must be less likely to win, I'm rooting for TM. A sci-fi winner isn't as far-fetched as it once was.
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