MYST 6: The Martian

I really, really, really hate space. The concept of space travel and space exploration is something that I could never do. There's something to be said about  the boundless, empty, semi-destructive nature of the universe and all that it contains, and it's terrifyingly realistic that the universe is like our oceans: we know almost nothing about anything at all. So, Matt Damon's penultimate nightmare in the 2015 epic 'The Martian' is something that would drive me to death beyond the brink of insanity. The concept of isolation, fear, desolation, and the ability to live alone in a world is completely foreign and unknown to the mental state of most people. In fact, this is the ultimate isolation, being left alone to fend for yourself almost 50 million miles away from home. Needless to say, Ridley Scott's epic about the terror of isolation and gripping fear is a very well-done piece of cinema, holding interest from start to finish, and Matt Damon's incredible portrayal only helps to serve.

Matt Damon is one of the finest actors in modern cinema. I'm sorry, as much crap as he gets for his mockery in 'Team America: World Police,' the actor is credited with such pieces of treasure as 'Good Will Hunting,' 'The Departed,' 'Bourne Ultimatum,' and 'Elysium.' The actor is no stranger to the big-name science-fiction roles often accredited with the likes of Chris Nolan and such, and because of his talent, he carries a strong-willed presence throughout the entirety of the film. He plays Mark Watney, based on Andy Weil's novel, a lone astronaut stranded on the surface of Mars after his operating crew leaves him behind in the midst of a superstorm. Alone and without an infinite supply of food and water, Watney needs to fend for himself until there becomes a possibility that he may ever return home.

The perspective and editing of the movie is by-far the most beautiful part of the movie. The Martian landscape is very, very well detailed, and looks true to the beauty of the red planet. The Mars in this film doesn't look fake, the way that space did in the old-school bomb 'Gravity,' but instead plays a lot more on capturing the true essence of the Martian landscape. As a result, there grows a very respectable portrayal of the location that, combined with multiple uses of long shots, carries out the portrayal of Watney as a lone human lost in the greatest, most powerful place to get lost in.

Also, the science behind the movie is satisfyingly accurate. While a lot of it is biological junk most of us forgot after freshman year of high school, the vast majority of it is proven to be accurate. Damon's character goes on a long tangent about the possibility of creating his own water, growing potatoes in soil fermented with his own dried feces, and duct-taping a hole in his space station shut. Along with the dry sarcasm that we've all come to love and respect from Matt Damon, it makes the astronaut character much more understandable, and as a result it makes his growth from fear to confidence to fear to confidence that more us-like and scary for us as viewers to watch.

However, it's these scientific tangents that serve as this epic's hamartia.

The science is BORING. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm a guy who's into literature, English, political science, and philosophy. In fact, I've never taken a biology class in my entire life, so all of his tangents about cell growth and genetic reproduction, I'm putting myself to sleep writing it down. I saw this movie in a theater late at night, and as a result, I fell asleep during the middle of this movie, because it soon became nothing more than a scientific tangent. Let me explain.

The movie works as a sort of 'reverse bell curve.' The beginning is really interesting, especially with the portrayal of the superstorm and his sudden realization of isolation and total fear. There's a dark lighting combined with multiple close shots, and it really helps to create a sense of total panic and
fear. As well, the ending is incredible, making you cheer for Damon's character to succeed and ending with the classroom scene that's funny and entertaining, even to us as viewers, providing a moral about the dangers of the unknown.

The problem is the middle.

Nothing really happens, to be quite honest. More of it becomes us trying to understand Damon's exact situation, and it becomes some kind of game of Ping-Pong between Damon talking about how screwed he is, compared with NASA trying to accept the fact that they've, once again, proven why we SHOULDN'T do things like send people to Mars. Back to Damon. Back to NASA. Back to Damon. Back to NASA. It just goes back and forth and back and forth between the two, and because the science isn't really relatable to an audience that isn't full of biochemists and astrophysicists, it becomes more of a pain to watch than anything.

Overall, the movie is very entertaining, and holds a lot of ground with Damon's character's sarcasm and optimism. The movie is clean, looks visually stunning, and carries a lot of scientific prowess. However, even with Damon's fantastic mask all over the movie, some of the parts become so scientific, they almost become insufferable to watch. However, Ridley Scott did an incredible job bringing this space epic to life, it furthers Damon as the cinematic master that he is.

I give Ridley Scott's 'The Martian' an 8/10.