Matinee: The Martian

Hey, it's that space movie Ridley Scott did!

No...not that one, the other space movie.

No! The one with poop science!

There we go!
The Martian is a 2015 Science-fiction film by Ridley Scott based off a book of the same name by Andy Weir. Botanist/Astronaut Mark Watney is marooned on Mars after a freak windstorm separates him from his team. He must survive for over a year on his wits, what's been left behind, and poop science. You could say it's a really shitty situation. Yes, I will be making as many poop based puns as possible.
One of the hard things with sci-fi is straddling the line between what is realistic and what is awesome. Often, realism goes out the door because like, real science is boring. fake science gives us aliens! Horrifying, human-hybrid aliens that will FOREVER scar any four-year-old unfortunate enough to watch the debacle that was Alien: Resurrection.

 

 

 

Nightmares to last a lifetime.

What is awesome about The Martian is that they err on the side of reality. This movie is one of the most scientifically accurate films I have ever seen. And that's not just because I love the shit out of The Matrix, NASA is backing me up on this one. This movie is scientifically accurate. And it was awesome. The Martian proved that you can have an entertaining film that is also true to the wonders of modern science, or at least, is not beyond the realm of imagination. Do they have to exaggerate in places? Yes. Would a dust storm actually strand you on Mars? No. But you know what? Even Andy Weir knew that. Part of the accuracy comes from the author wanting a realistic novel. The script was updated to keep up with current technologies, but the core is there. As an example, Mark uses human feces as fertilizer to grow potatoes, which contain almost all the nutrients you need to stay alive. I won't go into the science specifics, because MatPat does a great job of that in his film theory video, but, spoiler alert, it's hella accurate. Like, I shit you not, it is completely plausible. Which is great, because nothing kills a movie faster for me than scientific inaccuracy.
I actually haven't read the novel, a strange trend of mine recently. Normally, I try and get the original story before watching the movie, but apparently time is a limited commodity when you are an adult.  What I have heard is that the character of Mark is hilariously sarcastic. This carries over into the movie, and it is a huge benefit. One the one hand, survivor films can benefit from a serious narrator to convey the gravity (ehehehehe space puns) of the situation (re: The Revenant), but Mark's sarcasm and humor really helps carry the film. Because really, we don't always want to be following the lone badass, because we relate more with the smartass. It's fun, and adds much needed humor to a seriously humorless situation.
I don't have a lot of negative things to say about The Martian. It's an interesting story, it's scientifically accurate, and the main character is likeable. The most unrealistic part is the storm at the beginning, and this is a movie where they *spoiler alert* launch a man into space under a plastic tarp. Honestly Hollywood needs to take a page out of The Martian's book (haha get it? Because it's actually a novel. I am so great at this pun thing). Scientific accuracy does not have to detract from a movie, and it makes nerds happy. And since the movie industry seems to be catering SPECIFICALLY to nerds as of late (with the ten million superhero movies flooding our theaters), making more movies that appeal to detail oriented people is not a bad thing. Give me more science. Give me all the science. Give me great quotes like "I am going to science the shit out of this planet."

That's all for today, tune in next time for what will likely be an equally short entry on The Lego Movie.
~Sassa