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movie review - The Martian

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a story about a man stuck on Mars, who must who must survive on science alone. His ability to constantly pull rabbits out of hats despite an endless series of misadventures starts to wear not long into it. And then there's the response on Earth, where countless people in several countries spend billions to bring him back against the odds. I'd like to point out that that's not how we do space, we let people die even in near-Earth orbits. But OK.

We watched it for "movie night", and while it certainly had its moments, I don't think they were worth the dry wrangling of the source material into movie form. I think this film suffered from poor casting, placing a fellow who makes an excellent action lead or a rom-com protagonist as a scientist. The lead actor looks like he's delivering lines he doesn't get, like it took many takes to wade through each. The best part of this movie is the David Bowie track toward the end. It felt like a palpable release from being put through a two-hour lecture as a lot of movie people flex their excellence at making scene after clever scene.

Not recommended.