Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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22 UCW NOVEMBER 18-24, 2015 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM After seeing trailers for The Martian (144 minutes) I went out and got the 2011 Weir novel the film was based on, because only a dilettante would miss a book good enough to become a movie. I can sum up the novel pretty quickly; Presumed dead astronaut does science until NASA realizes he is alive. "Happy Days, "then more science results in potatoes, disco, quip, charm, grin, science, Abba, science, math, in space no one can hear you doing science, the end. For not being able to understand about 25 percent of the logistics, it was a pretty engaging read. The film is set in the near-future realm of the 2030s. An artificial habitat allows a crew of six to hang out on Mars gathering dirt. Six days into their mission, a Martian storm forces them to evacuate, but only five members of the crew make it. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead, and mission commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) orders the crew to leave. Obviously, he didn't die, or there wouldn't be much of a movie. After waking up to a low-oxygen alarm, he staggers back to the habitat and performs some impromptu surgery with a staple gun before taking stock of his situation and recording a vlog. With no way to contact NASA, he realizes he will run out of food three years before the next crew is scheduled to arrive and plants some poo-tatoes to stretch his rations. What are poo-tatoes, you ask? Well, since Martian soil lacks the bacteria and nutrients to produce life, Watney mixes up poo slurry from the vacuum sealed waste of his absentee crew members to toss on top of cut-up potatoes so they will sprout in the Martian soil. Science! While he is doing that, the action periodically shifts back to Earth, where NASA engineers Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Mindy Park (Mackenzie Davis) finally figure out that Watney is alive. I really wish that Ridley Scott had gone with anyone other than Mackenzie Davis to play Mindy Park, since she is basically recycling her look from "Halt and Catch Fire," which means she looked like she walked out of the classic 1995 film Hackers. A whole bunch of people argue about how to handle this revelation while Watney does science to the Pathfinder probe from 1997 so he can contact them and swear on live television when he finds out his crew still thinks he's dead. This process involves a bunch of guys looking at each other intently, saying things like, "If only our science was better science, we would have the best science ever to save Watney!" Sometimes, they even let a woman speak, like NASA PR rep Kristin Wiig. Every so often, the Director of NASA (Jeff Daniels) tells the other scientists to work faster. Amazingly, this is an effective leadership strategy. The plot from the novel is selectively edited, probably to remove some of the Absolutely, No Good, Very Horrible Day vibe from poor beleaguered Watney, who can't catch a break for more than a couple of days before he loses contact with NASA, rips open his stapled stomach or blows himself up (non-fatally). Some of Watney's more excessive self-congratulatory glibness disappears as well, so thanks for that, screenwriter Drew Goddard. The ending might stretch the boundaries of imagination, but I guess that's the fiction part of the otherwise science-based narrative. Overall, I think Ridley Scott has redeemed himself after 2014's ridiculous Exodus: Gods and Kings. The Martian is one of those films made at the right time with the right cast, with broad appeal. It's even a good family film, if your kids can sit still for two plus hours. Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX. Disco Damon The Martian (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Advertising to Grow Your Business www.upandcomingweekly.com For effective advertising call 910.484.6200 today!