To Mars and back It is not for the laws of physics that we go to Hollywood fiction. It is not iron logic and realism of what is happening, it is famous. Hollywood fiction is known for spectacular special effects, exciting plots and emotional tension. The Martian has both. It has an interesting plot, and desert landscapes of Mars, and spacecraft, and many other elements of fiction. But there is something wrong with the laws of physics that the little physicist inside me is extremely unhappy with.
The plot is intriguing - the hero is accidentally left on a desert planet. The options for continuing this are many. It could be a psychological drama, or a horror movie, or a first-contact movie, or whatever fantasy would allow. However, the creators – both the author of the book and filmmakers – took the simplest and most predictable path, making a survival moovie. But despite the predictable ending, the film remains interesting. Largely due to several storylines and humor, which, presumably, migrated into the film from the book.
Comic and unserious film make and very strange laws of physics. For example, at the beginning of the film, the rocket almost falls under the pressure of a storm. Whether storms of such force in the rarefied atmosphere of Mars is a debatable question, but closer to the middle of the hero goes to exactly such a rocket. It is not enough that it stands right in the middle of the desert, and numerous storms did not tilt it, so even the sand did not carry it. The same applies to heavy-duty tape with special tape, which retains tightness and withstand a sandstorm better than a metal rocket. It’s amazing that NASA doesn’t make spacecraft out of this incredibly durable material.
Another point that deprives the film of due seriousness is the immutability of the characters. With the astronauts on the ship, the situation is clear, but many of the scientists in the film did not even change costumes. The incident did not change the main character either externally or internally. By the end of the film, Mark remained the same optimistic wit and did not even lose weight, despite a rather meager diet. This gives the impression that the events of the film take place over a few days, and not a couple of years, which is constantly trying to remind the numbers on the screen.
However, I do not want to criticize the film. With his role as an entertainment spectacle, he copes. The landscapes of Mars are pleasant to admire, the plot is fascinating enough that there is no desire to rewind it faster, and some moments, for all their absurdity, make you worry. And yet from Ridley Scott, who gave the world the magnificent Alien, the wonderful Kingdom of Heaven and quite tolerable Prometheus, you expect something brighter, juicier, more impressive. Something that, if it does not become a new word in science fiction, will certainly remain in the memory for a long time. The film does not live up to such expectations.
7 out of 10
Original