9 / 10
The Martian is the rare mainstream science fiction film that treats its science as the point rather than as decoration. Ridley Scott directed. Drew Goddard adapted Andy Weir’s 2011 novel. Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, an astronaut accidentally left behind on Mars when his crew evacuates during a sandstorm and assumes he is dead. The plot is the year Watney spends figuring out how to survive on Mars while NASA, the Chinese National Space Administration, and his returning crewmates figure out how to rescue him. Jessica Chastain plays Commander Melissa Lewis. Jeff Daniels plays NASA director Teddy Sanders. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Mars mission director Vincent Kapoor. Sean Bean plays Mitch Henderson. Donald Glover plays Rich Purnell, the orbital dynamics expert who figures out the rescue trajectory. Kristen Wiig plays the NASA press secretary.
The film made approximately six hundred and thirty million dollars worldwide on a one hundred and eight million dollar budget. It was one of the most commercially successful hard science fiction films ever made. The reviews were uniformly positive. The film received seven Academy Award nominations. Andy Weir’s novel had also been a commercial success, originally self-published before Crown Publishing picked it up. The film is the rare adaptation that improved on its source by tightening the structure and accelerating the pace.
The Problem-Solving Premise
The film is structured as a series of problems that Watney has to solve to survive. He needs to grow food. He uses Martian soil mixed with his own waste to produce potatoes. He needs more water. He extracts hydrogen from rocket fuel and burns it with oxygen to produce water, while almost killing himself in a hydrogen explosion. He needs to communicate. He finds the abandoned Pathfinder probe from 1997 and reactivates it to send messages to Earth. Each problem produces a specific scientific solution. Each solution produces new problems.
The structure is what fans of hard science fiction have wanted from mainstream cinema for decades. Most science fiction films treat the science as the obstacle to be removed before the story can begin. The Martian treats the science as the story. Watney’s competence is the entire engine. The audience watches a person think their way out of certain death using only the materials available. The pleasure is in the problem-solving rather than in the action.
For Writers
Competence is one of the most underused engines in fiction. The Martian is structured around a protagonist who is genuinely competent and uses that competence to solve real problems. The audience invests because problem-solving is inherently satisfying when the problems are real. The lesson is that competence porn, derided in some literary circles, is a legitimate narrative engine. Show a character who knows what they are doing using that knowledge to solve specific problems. Readers will follow that character indefinitely.
Matt Damon
Damon was forty-four during filming. The role required him to carry significant portions of the film alone. Mars is empty. There are no other actors to play off. Watney addresses the camera directly through a video log he maintains throughout his time on the surface. The performance requires Damon to be entertaining alone on screen for substantial sections of the runtime. He commits to the work.
The performance is calibrated for warmth and specificity. Watney is a botanist with a sense of humor that has not been entirely crushed by his situation. He swears at NASA. He plays disco music his commander left behind because she preferred 1970s soul, which Watney specifically hates. He documents his attempts to solve impossible problems with the dryness of a person who has accepted that he might die at any moment. The dryness keeps the film from becoming melodrama. The audience laughs with Watney rather than for him.
For Writers
A solitary protagonist needs a specific voice that can carry extended monologue. The Martian’s Watney addresses a video log. The voice is dry, specific, and recognizably human. The audience follows him because the voice is interesting. The lesson is that isolated characters in fiction require unusually strong narration. The voice has to do work that dialogue with other characters would normally do. Develop the specific voice before isolating the character. The character is the voice when no one else is on screen.
The Earth Sequences
The film alternates between Watney’s struggle on Mars and the Earth-side effort to rescue him. The NASA sequences are populated with strong character actors playing competent professionals trying to solve a problem that is partly engineering and partly political. The scenes are some of the most realistic depictions of how NASA actually works that mainstream cinema has produced. The institutional dynamics are credible. The political pressures are credible. The technical conversations are reasonably accurate.
The Donald Glover sequence, in which Rich Purnell figures out the gravitational slingshot trajectory that becomes the rescue plan, is the film’s most-quoted Earth scene. Glover plays Purnell as a barely-functional genius who has just realized something important and cannot articulate it without using a stapler and a paperclip to demonstrate the orbital mechanics. The sequence captures the specific energy of scientists working at the edge of what they know. The performance is the film’s best supporting role.
For Writers
Scientific discovery in fiction works when the writer treats the scientists as recognizable humans with specific work habits. The Martian’s NASA scientists are awkward, competent, and visibly working. The audience reads them as real because they behave like real scientists. The lesson is that researching the actual culture of your fictional professionals produces material the writer could not have invented. Real scientists do not talk like science fiction scientists. Real engineers do not work like science fiction engineers. Use the real cultures. The fiction will benefit.
Craft Note
The potato-farming sequence is the film’s central craft. Ridley Scott stages Watney’s first agricultural success through procedural exposition (the soil chemistry, the water generation, the planting) without sacrificing dramatic momentum. The sequence demonstrates how science fiction can make scientific process dramatic when the protagonist’s actual survival depends on the procedure working.
The Verdict
9/10. One of the best mainstream science fiction films of the 2010s and one of the most commercially successful hard science fiction productions ever made. Matt Damon carries the film. The Earth sequences are populated with strong character work. The problem-solving structure is the film’s foundation. The film treats its audience as intelligent. The audience responded by making it a hit. Watch it.
FAQ
Is the science accurate?
Largely yes. NASA consulted on the production. Some specific details were simplified or dramatized. The opening sandstorm is the most-cited inaccuracy, since Martian atmosphere is too thin to produce damaging wind. The film acknowledges this issue in extended interviews but kept the sandstorm for dramatic reasons.
How is the book?
The Andy Weir novel is excellent. The film tightens the structure and removes some technical detail. Both versions are worth your time.
Who is Andy Weir?
American software engineer and novelist. The Martian was originally self-published as a serialized novel on his website before being picked up by Crown Publishing. Subsequent novels include Artemis (2017) and Project Hail Mary (2021). Project Hail Mary is currently in development as a feature film with Ryan Gosling.
How is Donald Glover?
The Rich Purnell sequence is one of the film’s best moments. Glover’s performance gives the Earth side the texture it needs.
Did the film influence NASA?
Yes. NASA has used the film extensively in public outreach. The film’s depiction of NASA as a competent institution did genuine work for the agency’s public image.
Is it really a comedy?
Partly. The film is officially a drama. The tone is unusually warm for a hard science fiction film. The dryness of the Watney monologue gives the film its specific character.
Should I watch this?
Yes. Essential 2010s viewing.