The Martian

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  • The Martian

    I saw this at a preview screening in northern California.

    Excellent movie, just don't expect a lot of action. If you liked the classic Silent Running with Bruce Dern, you will enjoy this movie. Not the same story, just the same sort of mood and plot of surviving under impossible conditions.

    Matt Damon does a great job, injecting unexpected humour in appropriate places but not overdoing it. His is the only acting performance of any note, in my opinion. The movie is pretty much all Matt Damon

    My only complaint with this movie is the 3-D. I don't believe it added anything to the film and I actually found it disturbing now and then. A couple of scenes appeared to have flat images in the background, resembling some of the still photos in the old Viewfinder toy.

    I assume some of us will nitpick the science, but overall most of what happens seems feasible and within the laws of physics. At least to me.
    Last edited by billmarq; 09-29-2015, 12:51 PM. Reason: typo "overseeing" should have been "overdoing"
    We're making a movie here, not a film! - Kit Ramsey

  • #2
    Re: Martian

    Originally posted by billmarq View Post
    If you liked the classic Silent Running with Bruce Dern, you will enjoy this movie.
    This is the first comment that I've yet encountered that has made me uneasy about this film. I loathe Silent Running, which is tedious beyond measure. But I read the script for The Martian and found that it rocketed along at a breakneck pace. The script crackles with energy, whereas Silent Running lacks sufficient energy even to power a 40W bulb.

    This makes me dread that Scott has drained the script of the irresistible forward momentum that it has in spades and has slowed it down to a crawl, as he did the Kingdom of Heaven script, stretching 120 pages into a ponderous, plodding faux-epic.

    But I won't know until I see it. My own inclination, from reading the script, was that the movie would compare to Apollo 13. And that had go-juice aplenty.

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    • #3
      Re: Martian

      I have not watched Silent Running in a great while, so perhaps I made a bad reference. Watch The Martian and make up your own mind. It is probably more akin to Apollo 13 in most respects.

      At any rate, The Martian is a fantastic film in my opinion. I just did not appreciate the 3D. I'd like to see it in 2D. The 3D really did not work well in many scenes where the out-of-focus backgrounds were mildly disturbing. I was not the only person at the screening who felt this way.
      Last edited by billmarq; 09-28-2015, 10:52 AM.
      We're making a movie here, not a film! - Kit Ramsey

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      • #4
        Re: Martian

        Has no one else here seen a screening? I am interested in other opinions. One of my colleagues suggested that it might not be as successful as we hope due to the lack of "action" as in a movie like one of the Fast and Furious series.

        We are amateur astronomers, by the way, which is why we were selected as part of the target audience.
        We're making a movie here, not a film! - Kit Ramsey

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        • #5
          Re: Martian

          I haven't seen it, but I hope Matt Damon discovers "liquid water" to help him grow his garden.

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          • #6
            Re: Martian

            I caught a preview in London on Sunday night, really enjoyed it, one of the best films I've seen this year.

            I wouldn't compare it to Silent Running which bored the hell out of me, far closer to Apollo 13 without quite hitting that level. I didn't have any problems with the 3D but didn't feel it added much.

            Matt Damon's excellent and a big reason that the movie never drags despite little action, I always wanted to see how he would solve the next problem and was keen that he did. Rest of the cast were fine (not given massive amounts to do) and I only had one "hey, wait a minute..." science moment so overall it's one I'd recommend.

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            • #7
              Re: Martian

              Getting good reviews. Will see.
              "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
              - Screenwriting Friend

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              • #8
                Re: Martian

                I won't give out any spoilers, but I will say that there is a lot of tension build-up in the final scenes. This is a well written and well directed movie. Certainly one of Hollywood's better efforts. Will definitely go into my Blu-ray collection eventually.

                I shall wait for its release before making any other comments.
                We're making a movie here, not a film! - Kit Ramsey

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                • #9
                  Re: Martian

                  It was a good well-plotted film, but I felt nothing new here. Almost like I was watching Gravity + Prometheus spliced together. All the real science was also a bit dull. I mean, burning hydrogen to get water? Nothing mind-bending here. I think I learned that in grade 3.

                  Interstellar focused on cooler, more interesting topics like wormholes / black holes / extra dimensions. It also had 10x more mystery and suspense. I also recall tearing up 3 or 4 times watching Interstellar. I had 0 emotional breakdowns watching The Martian.

                  BTW, the visuals were stunning, but again, nothing new.
                  I'm never wrong. Reality is just stubborn.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Martian

                    compared to the best of Ridley Scott's sci-fi work -- Alien and Blade Runner -- this felt like it could have been directed by anyone. if you love the math section on the SAT then this sure is the Martian survival tale for you

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                    • #11
                      Re: Martian

                      For those who have seen it -- do you feel as Billmarq does about the 3D? Would it be better not to see it in 3D?

                      Late Night Writer

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                      • #12
                        Re: Martian

                        Saw it in 3D due to a mix up. Didn't intend to. Half way through the movie I had no idea why it was shot in 3D. There's no need to see it in 3D. Didn't feel like I had been to Mars or in a NASA program.

                        It's a solid story, technically, but I would have preferred some additional cathartic moments.

                        The Mark Watney that started the story seemed pretty similar to the Mark Watney character that ended the story. So, it was a good movie about a character who survived, but not a great movie about a character who was changed by surviving against the odds.

                        Agree with Joe. It was Scott-lite. Is Ridley kicking back and enjoying his autumn years with the harrowing nature of space behind him?

                        And it was longer than it needed to be. At times I thought I was watching the story in real time.
                        #writinginaStarbucks #re-thinkingmyexistence #notanotherweaklogline #thinkingwhatwouldWilldo

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                        • #13
                          Re: Martian

                          Decent flick, but nothing to write home about.

                          By the numbers and quite predictable too; you literally have the plot outline of the whole movie from watching the trailer.

                          The funny parts were refreshing and set it apart from the ominous tone of Interstellar, but at times I wondered if I was watching a Sci-Fi comedy.

                          Guess I was slightly disappointed because of the hype built around it... like best film of 2015, etc.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Martian

                            I think both the strengths and "weaknesses" of the film were there in the source material. The adaptation was very solid, so kudos to the screenwriter.

                            In any case, it's doing great at the BO.

                            And if anyone's looking for a a grounded, near-future, science-fiction disaster script in the vein of "The Martian,- you can check out my award-winning script "Dead Reckoning," which I'm pimping the $h!t out of at the moment.

                            http://lauridonahue.com/scripts/dead-reckoning/
                            "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                            Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Martian

                              Originally posted by FoxHound View Post
                              Interstellar focused on cooler, more interesting topics like wormholes / black holes / extra dimensions. It also had 10x more mystery and suspense. I also recall tearing up 3 or 4 times watching Interstellar. I had 0 emotional breakdowns watching The Martian.
                              Just goes to show, different strokes for different folks.

                              I thought Interstellar was dry and forced any sort of emotional angle with an extremely heavy hand, and The Martian elegantly achieved some legitimate heart.

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