TIFF 2015: The Martian gives intimate view of Mars, today’s space technology

Well, you’re in luck as 20th Century Fox has now debuted the “final” trailer for the Matt Damon-headlined sci-fi, and we have it for you below after the official synopsis…

Based on the best-selling book by Andy Weir, The Martian is an uplifting story of the human spirit triumphing in even the most inhospitable environments. As the Toronto Film Festival advances, these movies are already struggling for the Oscar awards later this year.

Not only was Weir – who is a computer programmer – consulted, but director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Drew Goddard toured NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It would be too easy for a story about being stranded on Mars to veer toward the grim-left alone in a hostile world, abandoned. “And everything that Mark does is exactly what you would have to do, kind of step by step, if you were going to survive”. Honestly, how I felt the nominations would go didn’t necessarily reflect that, but rather what I thought the ideal performance of this interesting title could be. Moreover, the film has excelled because of better utilization of visual-enhancement technology, spectacular 3D effect, excellent production values, and overall experience.

But Damon is not a lone pioneer for the entire film.

Damon lands Watney’s often dry humor with aplomb and holds the screen well, given that much of the film is him talking to himself, or recording video journals. In addition to Damon in the lead role and Chastain in one of the main supporting ones, the star studded cast includes Sean Bean, Jeff Daniels, Mackenzie Davis, Chiwetel Ejifor, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, and Kristen Wiig.

Sebastian Stan of “Captain America” fame plays a crew member and said he was excited by the realism of the film and the vision it offered. “One of reasons I love Ridley Scott and admire him so much is because a lot of his films have been about women”.

An oxygenator that pulls carbon dioxide out of Mars’s atmosphere and converts it into breathable oxygen, similar to the one in the Hab (Watney’s home on the Red Planet), will head to Mars aboard the Mars 2020 rover in just five years for testing.

Damon said that if there is a message to the movie, it is about the sanctity of each life and how people can work together to preserve it. And while the movie puts a cinematic sheen on the hard science, it does a nice job of maintaining it and keeping The Martian smart.