'The Martian' is Good, but the Book was Better

Ensign Lestat's Film Log, 24/10/2015

Friendly banter among a group of astronauts turns into a fight for survival when the Ares 3 crew are hit by a massive dust storm on Mars. As they head to their ship, one member, Mark Watney (Matt Damon), is struck by debris and presumed dead.

As the world mourns his death, back on Mars, Mark wakes up. Abandoned and alone, he has to survive four years before a rescue mission is likely to reach him. But first he has to eke out his rations and find a way to contact NASA

'The Martian' is the highly-anticipated adaptation of the 2012 book of the same name. Author Andy Weir self-published the book and distributed it for free before its acclaim caught the attention of HarperCollins. 

The book follows three points of view, Watney’s logs on Mars, NASA’s rescue attempts, and the Ares 3 crew’s return home. This makes for an interesting watch, as we dedicate huge chunks of screen time to particular sets of cast members at the expense of others. 

Ridley Scott’s excellent cinematic eye brings this film alive. The Martian landscape, shot in Jordan, is breathtaking as are the few glimpses we get on the Hermes spaceport and the Ares 3 ship. Weir had worked hard on making the science in his book as close to reality as possible, and it comes through in the film as well. The film-makers worked closely with NASA to make it all plausible.

It’s been a while since I watched a film adaptation of a book I particularly enjoyed, and I’ve unfortunately fallen into the ‘book was better’ club. The book’s non-linear story-telling really worked up the suspense, whereas in the film Watney’s circumstances are laid out in the very first scene. One would think screenwriter Drew Goddard would have stuck to that aspect, but he doesn’t.

The cast for the most part are on-point. Damon, despite his many faux-pas off late, is engaging as the cool, unflappable botanist. Jessica Chastain’s Commander Lewis (look a female space commander!) is stoic and commanding – she brings a surprising presence to her role. Michael Peña is his usual quirky self, bringing some much-needed diversity to the Ares 3 crew, but Aksel Hennie, a Norwegian actor playing a German astronaut (more on that in a minute) seemed a little overwhelmed in my opinion. Kate Mara doesn’t get to do much with her role unfortunately; neither does Sebastian Stan, whose Dr. Beck gets to hang out in space, but is always incidental to the plot. Most of the NASA and JPL cast are great, though I think Scott and Goddard misread PR Rep Annie’s character. Played by Kristen Wiig she’s more emotional and clueless than her book counterpart who was a no-nonsense sarcastic professional.

Dr. Beck

The elephant in the room when talking about this film is race-erasure. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised considering this film is directed by Scott (who cast a Brit and an Australian as Egyptian kings in his last film), but it grates when he swaps out the book’s Venkat Kapoor for the film’s Vincent Kapoor and casts Chiwetel Ejiofor in the role. One actor of colour can’t fill the space of another – they’re from two different continents! Another miscast character was that of Mindy Park, who pretty much everyone read as being Asian, but is played by regular tall, thin, blonde, vapid-looking Canadian actor Mackenzie Davis. It didn’t help that she was the weakest link among the actors, going through her scenes as a sulky, expressionless teen.

Chiwetel Ejiofor at Vincent Kapoor - there's limit to even his talents.

The film is fantastic, and will likely scratch a lot of your space-nerd itches for a while, but if you’ve read the book, it’s a little underwhelming. Thankfully, much of the humour of the book is encapsulated by the film, making it lighter fare than the emotionally-wrenching Interstellar from 2014.

Scott doesn’t have the capacity to replicate the pace or energy of the book. In their curtailed scenes, the Ares 3 crew could still have been active participants in the film and the plot. This lack of energy is particularly obvious in the climax. Where the book had heart-pumping action, Scott draws out the scenes to the point of tedium. Quick cuts and intercuts would have given us a look at all the characters involved, yet we go through their actions one at a time.

The film also makes up a completely Hollywood ending for the characters. The book ended it abruptly but aptly. The climax of the film has a very meta ending, and you’ll be in on the joke if you’ve read the book (if not, you will want to read the book afterwards, anyway), but the actual ending is from completely Goddard, and feels far removed from everything that’s gone before.

This film is exceptionally enjoyable and the effort to be as scientifically accurate as possible shines through. It’s over two hours long, yet never feels like it. It’s harsh to knock the film, but some grievances are well-founded. Race-erasure is a serious Hollywood problem that needs to go, yesterday. The reason to watch this film is so that you can go and get yourself the nearest copy of the book and read it!

This review originally appeared in 'Window of Travel'