The Martian review

When a mission to Mars is disrupted by a large storm, one of its crew members Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left stranded. With the next manned mission not expected for another four years, Watney is forced to use all his skills and ingenuity as a botanist and engineer in order to survive.

Great, you probably think, a film where a human being is pushed to their physiological and psychological limits while stranded on another planet. This could be a brilliant exploration of the strength of the human spirit. Indeed, The Martian could be this, but it isn’t.

The problems with the film are multifarious. For starters, its constant planet-hopping from Mars to Earth to Mars to Earth again kills any suspense or sense of peril. Is Watney ever going to return to Earth? Is he going to survive long enough to be rescued? Yes we know he is because we keep seeing all the head honchos at NASA plus their huge team of technicians working out how they’re going to bring him back. The conclusion of the film is never in doubt.

Then there is also the character of Watney. For a man who has death staring him in the face, he never seems to be short of a smile or something to joke about. This, of course, is supposed to make him endearing and likeable yet it also makes him seem more like a cardboard cut-out than a real human being. Among all the good humour he displays, shouldn’t there be at least a few moments of despair? A few moments when it looks like the dreadful realities of his situation might actually ‘break him?

That Watney doesn’t have any of these moments means for the majority of the film he looks about as inconvenienced as a man who’s broken down on the M25.

It’s not just Watney, though, but also the whole film that seems to be off in terms of tone. Even the film’s soundtrack is questionable, with ABBA's 'Waterloo' seeming an overly flippant song choice for one critical sequence. If Ridley Scott was directing a feature film version of the Great British Bake Off, the inclusion of such a song during the climax might be appropriate, but just before a man might lose his life? I’m not so sure.

If you’re looking for some light-hearted thrills, you might find The Martian to your liking. If you’re looking for something deeper and more interesting in the vein of Scott’s Blade Runner, however, expect to be disappointed.

Star Rating: 2/5