‘The Martian’: How it scored a big box office debut

From comedy to sci-fi to animated family features, Martian movies cover a wide range of genres, but as for the quality of those films – well, let’s just say Mars has rarely starred in a great movie. Credit should also be given to the score by Harry Gregson-Williams; for the vast majority of the run time it’s employed subtly, but in scenes where it needs to do more of the heavy lifting it is suitably powerful. A faint light peaks over the horizon, giving the object its distinct color.

The Martian, released last Friday, is set in a future not too far or different from our own.

In what might be described as the “Castaway” for space movie enthusiasts, “The Martian” chronicles the survival of astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Identity), after an accident leaves Watney stranded and alone on Mars while the rest of his crew makes an emergency departure back to Earth. In a short time, the crew is warned of an impending storm approaching. With his life-support monitor broken, his crew-mates believe he has died and after a frantic search for him they reluctantly blast off to return to Earth.

Throw in inspired use of tracks from the likes of Bowie, Abba and Donna Summer and The Martian is one of the most entertaining slices of escapism you’ll see all year.

The cast of The Martian is an ensemble for the ages, boasting multiple award-winning and award-nominated actors. The pleasing performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor (Venkat Kapoor) and Donald Glover (Rich Purnell) help give the film a generous non-Watney dosage, which is necessary to avoid overload from Watney’s character.

Minutes into the film, Watney is already stranded on the planet, as Scott avoids any unnecessary buildup to the task at hand.

Kristen Wiig as Annie Montrose, the head of the media relations, makes her presence felt with one strong offhanded dialogue – making her displeasure with the director known to the team. Much of the science was beyond me, so I daren’t accuse any of it as being bogus, but the human factor is powerful.

Readers of Andy Weir’s novel (on which the film is based) will no doubt attest to the way in which Scott brilliantly captures Watney’s snarky demeanour and dry wit.

Nasa collaborated on the film with 20th Century Fox Entertainment, providing guidance on production design and technical consultants, including Jim Green, director of planetary science, and Dave Lavery, program executive for solar system exploration.

At its core, The Martian tells an unbelievable story about hope, hard work and never giving up – good advice for an overwhelmed student at the College. It is, in fact, just a problem that needs to be solved.