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First Reviews for The Martian (dir. Ridley Scott; based on the book; Matt Damon)

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T

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
EDIT: I am wrong, this is not the first review just somehow the first one that I saw. Damn is anyone talking about this movie?

Goddamn. I was hopeful, but if this review is accurate I really hope this movie blows some doors off the box office. Super minor spoilers at the link, like it suggests what the climax of the movie is, which everyone should be able to guess

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/09/22/the-martian-review-the-movie-can-save-the-world

Somewhere in the world a brilliant 12 year old is waiting for inspiration. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s ready for a fictional vision of the future that will snap her world into focus, that will give her a bigger picture than the school books she’s reading and will set her on a path to changing the world and the destiny of humanity. The Martian is that movie.

The Martian is a movie that can save the world. It’s a movie dedicated to the greatest side of humanity that is so rarely celebrated in film, our can-do problem solving nature. It’s a film that embraces all aspects of human greatness - bravery, compassion, love, curiosity - but it is an unprecedented examination of humanity’s ability to set our minds to a problem and, working together without ego or competition, absolutely triumph over it. It’s a movie that reminds us that all of the problems facing our world are surmountable, and that with the right attitude and the right math and the right dedication we can solve them all, one after another. The Martian isn’t about some namby-pamby feeling of hope, it’s a step-by-step guide to achieving the change for which we hope.
Click to expand...

It’s honestly impossible to discount the work of Goddard and Weir here; even the Scott movies I have liked in the last few years (see: The Counselor) have had character work that is wonky at best. A movie like Prometheus shows that Scott prefers atmosphere and action over things like character and sense, but The Martian is a movie that thrives on both character and sense (the film makes you feel like all of its science is plausible). The last time a Ridley Scott movie had characters as luminous and full and absolutely wonderful as these was Thelma & Louise, and that was a long time ago. All of that is on the page.

It is also, to be fair, in the casting. Matt Damon gives a classic Hollywood star performance in The Martian - he’s magnetic and watchable and nuanced and layered. This is an Oscar-winning performance, a role that reminds you why you fell in love with Matt Damon in the first place. The Martian doesn’t spend a lot of time on characters having feelings so Damon has to fit all of that in the cracks between the survival and the science and he is simply incredible at it. He can express the breaking of Watney’s spirit in a small movement while also telling us about the way the man regroups and recommits to survival in just the way he straightens up. The few scenes where Watney is broadly emotional - a fit of anger, a small bit of crying - Damon delivers with surgical precision.
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In the 1960s we, as a nation, had a will to conquer space. That will has eroded over the last few decades. The Martian is the sort of movie that can reignite that will, that can capture the imaginations of a generation and remind them that the human adventure cannot end within the atmosphere of this planet, that we can and should continue out to discover and learn and experience new things. There’s a whole universe of firsts waiting for us.
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D

darkness_s

Member
Great! I can't wait for this movie, I really loved the book.

There's already over 30 reviews on rotten tomatoes, though, I don't think this is the first.
 
T

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
darkness_s said:
Great! I can't wait for this movie, I really loved the book.

There's already over 30 reviews on rotten tomatoes, though, I don't think this is the first.
Click to expand...
Yeah my bad, this is just the first one I saw, which is strange. Hell, I was more aware of the critical reception to Exodus. Are people talking about this movie?
 
X

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Does he use common core math to solve his problems? Haha.

I am really looking forward to this film, loved the book.
 
Z

Zapages

Member
In the past few years we have gotten some awesome Space movies:

Interstellar
Gravity was meh... But still.

I can't wait for this one. :)
 
S

sphinx

the piano man
I just wish Matt Damon would stay away from my Sci.Fi movies -_-

he always plays himself, making all his movies unbelievable, The lowest point in Interstellar in my opinion.
 
E

Erevador

Member
This movie is going to be amazing.

That said, Devin Faraci is a joke. Anyone linking to his writing should be ashamed.
 
A

Anton Sugar

Member
Devin Faraci can be a bit of a sensationalist in his reviews, or is at least prone to hyperbole.

Having said that, I'm really looking forward to this. Sounds like Ridley still has some tricks up his sleeve.

Geo said:
Gravity is a masterpiece though.
Click to expand...

Except it's not. I can do this, too!
 
G

-griffy-

Banned
There was a thread with reviews a week ago or so after it premiered, all mostly positive.

The Lamonster said:
Protip: early reviews are always overly positive.
Click to expand...

Most of these reviews are based on critics seeing it at film festivals. No real reason to be suspicious of them, not like handpicked critics were granted screenings by the studio. 97% at RottenTomatoes with a bunch of reviews so far. (page is having trouble loading at the moment).
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
I really want to watch this movie, but I just saw Exodus last night, and my previous two Scott films before that were The Counselor and Prometheus. Both of which I saw in theaters.

I started the book a little while ago too. Decisions, decisions.
 
S

SummitAve

Banned
EBE said:
I like Ridley Scott. I like Matt Damon. I like science fiction.
Click to expand...

The science fiction in the book was extremely grounded for something called The Martian so I wouldn't expect too much there. I kept waiting for aliens, but there was nothing :(
 
L

liquidtmd

Banned
The Martian is a movie that can save the world.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
K

Kinyou

Member
Somewhere in the world a brilliant 12 year old is waiting for inspiration. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s ready for a fictional vision of the future that will snap her world into focus, that will give her a bigger picture than the school books she’s reading and will set her on a path to changing the world and the destiny of humanity. The Martian is that movie.

The Martian is a movie that can save the world.
Click to expand...
Good lord, wut?
 
T

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Sho_Nuff82 said:
I really want to watch this movie, but I just saw Exodus last night, and my previous two Scott films before that were The Counselor and Prometheus. Both of which I saw in theaters.

I started the book a little while ago too. Decisions, decisions.
Click to expand...

I agree with the BMD review that Scott's problems are very often on the script level. If he's got a good script the man can still direct. So fingers crossed, I think I'll try and go see it opening weekend
 
G

GrotesqueBeauty

Banned
Hai gaiz, I have a review of the Martian. It's pretty even handed and stuff:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be The Martian,” and there was The Martian. 4 God saw that The Martian was balls out amazing, and he separated The Martian from other sci fi. 5 God called The Martian “a movie that can save the world,” and the other sci fi movies he called out as “preferring atmosphere and action over things like character and sense.” And there was a theatrical premiere, and there was watching—the best movie, like, ever.
Click to expand...
 
E

EBE

Member
SummitAve said:
The science fiction in the book was extremely grounded for something called The Martian so I wouldn't expect too much there. I kept waiting for aliens, but there was nothing :(
Click to expand...

Damn. Oh well. Real science is just as fun, I guess. Sigh...
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
BobbyRoberts said:
No, it isn't.
Click to expand...
After the Moses movie and Prometheus, I don't really expect anything creative from Scott anymore.

The Technomancer said:
EDIT: I am wrong, this is not the first review just somehow the first one that I saw. Damn is anyone talking about this movie?

Goddamn. I was hopeful, but if this review is accurate I really hope this movie blows some doors off the box office. Super minor spoilers at the link, like it suggests what the climax of the movie is, which everyone should be able to guess

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/09/...save-the-world
Click to expand...
This is the equivalent of the IGN review saying GTA4 is Oscar worthy isn't it? God damn. lol
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
firehawk12 said:
After the Moses movie and Prometheus, I don't really expect anything creative from Scott anymore.
Click to expand...

Which is understandable, (trust me, a lack of faith in Ridley Scott isn't at all out of the ordinary for me) but Scott didn't write either the book, or the adaptation of it for the film, and apparently didn't interfere in that adaptation all that much, so he's just making sure the actors act right, and everything looks good. Which is what you want Ridley Scott doing. Getting out of his own fucking way.

But even without Ridley Scott's involvement, "The Martian" being described as "a more boring Gravity," isn't all that accurate. The Martian isn't trying to do what Gravity's doing in a dramatic sense at all. Its aims are completely different. Gravity wants to keep you tense and freaked the fuck out at all times. The Martian isn't really about that.
 
F

Freewheelin'

Member
Ridley Scott is the directorial version of Nicolas Cage.

Wonderful talent for the technical and visual aspects of a film but man is he a fucking inconsistent picker of scripts.

martian looks good tho
 
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