The Martian | WIRED Movie Review

[Mark Watney] I guarantee you that, at some point,

everything's gonna go south on you.

Ready! (explosion)

[Watney] Now you can either accept that,

[Grunting] or you can get to work.

Ridley Scott's epic, The Martian, is one of

the most exciting space films since Gravity.

It's been a good year for space.

New Horizons flew past Pluto,

and got everyone excited about the dwarf planet.

On the International Space Station,

astronauts are eating lettuce they grew themselves,

and NASA's found new evidence of water on Mars.

Throw into that mix a slate

of highly anticipated space flicks,

and it's a very, very good year for space fans.

The reason discovery of water on Mars

cast the film in a bit of a strange light:

part of the plot revolves around Matt Damon's character,

Mark Watney, needing to synthesize water

in order to survive on the barren planet

after his crew of astronauts escapes,

leaves him stranded, and left for dead.

But while we've seen survival in space stories before:

Sandra Bullock leap-frogging between space capsules

in Gravity, or Tom Hanks in Apollo 13,

we always love a good hero versus

a hostile alien world scenario,

and The Martian has got plenty of both.

[Mitch Henderson] Mark Watney's still alive.

(dramatic music) Whoo!

In your face, Neil Armstrong.

[Peter] Unlike Mark Watney, Ridley Scott

actually seems to be having fun on Mars,

offering up beautiful landscapes from the red planet,

or, at least, it's terrestrial stand-in, Jordan,

and plenty of tension to go along with it.

It takes a lot to carry the bulk

of a two hour movie by yourself,

and Matt Damon brings a right blend

of scientist gravitas and deadpan wit

to his portrayal of Mark Watney,

the botanist who's stranded on Mars.

I am the greatest botanist on this planet.

[Peter] He might be alone on the planet,

but he's not alone in the film,

which has great performances by Jessica Chastain

as the astronaut crew's commander,

Chiwetel Ejiofor as NASA's Head of Mars Missions,

and Jeff Daniels as the Director of NASA.

Donald Glover also has a great small performance

in a role I don't wanna spoil for you.

While The Martian, expertly adapted

by Drew Goddard from Andy Weir's fan-favorite

originally self-published book, is sci-fi,

at least, for now, it's rooted

in extensively researched science,

from botany to orbital mechanics.

So, as much as it is a rollicking story,

it's also something of a promotion

for that manned mission to Mars

that so many of us are waiting to see.

It's your move, NASA.

[Mark] I'm gonna have to science the hell outta this.