Adam, Will, and Norm share non-spoilerish impressions of The Martian, followed by an extended conversation where they spoil the hell out of the film. Enjoy! PS There’s more Inside Out discussion after the end of the podcast, too.
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I’ve read the book so I know what goes on story wise in the film. You guys think this would be ok to listen to? Probably won’t be able to see the movie until the weekend.
SPOILER : The Titanic sinks…
(Though I might suggest people review what Stephen Fry has to say about “Being offended”)
#ObviousJokeIsObvious
Not going to lie but I’m pretty surprised you guys liked this having read the book. They skip like all actual problem solving and mark has like no screentime. It’s nasa with a side of the martian. That and they were horrible with the females. Like Mindy they directly take a line of her correcting vincent kapoor and swap it to make her seem dumb. Same goes for annie.
Suits. Loved them. Except for the campy bolt-on GoPros. I know it’s nit-picking but it just didn’t feel right. The suit looked 100% badass and believable until they bolt on a camera that would’ve been 10-20 years old by then? Meh. Same thought when he pulled a standard Rubbermaid container off of the shelf.
ALL of the effects were totally on-point and I was into it, but throw one weird object like that in there and I fell out of the story for a minute or two until the next awesome effect pulled me back in.
Also, I thought PG-13 only got one F-bomb? They managed two, plus the rover lip-reading one. (EDIT: Just got to the end where you guys addressed this! I wholeheartedly agree.)
I want a poster of the written sol count with “Mark Watney” signed when he left the hab. Freakin’ awesome.
i get they need to cut it down but mark should have at least been the main focus not nasa.
The Martian
I’m curious as to why the seemingly arbitrary change in the mission dates…. Not that it seems to impact the story much one way or the other (Or is there a detail I missed?)
On the subject of realism, I feel like one could very easily “troll” the future, by leaking a cut of The Martian with an opening screen that states “Based On Actual Events”.
I liked having Lewis go out to get Watney! It helped tell a great story between those two characters. But yeah, to me the Iron Man bit felt really tacked on and silly….
As for drama left on the table, I’m surprised we did not see Watneys parents, especially while the world is watching the rescue maneuver happen.
Epilogue: Didn’t Weir say there was an Epilogue, but he took it out of the book because he never liked it. Do we know for sure that the movie Epilogue doesn’t follow Weirs original?
Wouldn’t it be nice if The Martian (movie and book) helped inspire people to pressure their government into raising NASA’s budget in much the same way Neil deGrasse Tyson has been advocating for years now… #DoublIt
Inside Out: Did I miss a longer talk about this AWESOME film somewhere???
Edit: Awesome ‘cast, fellows!!
Phone won’t let me edit my posts, but just finished listening to this and im glad to here your reasons for liking parts i hated (i listen to the audiobook from start to finish every 2 days at work so I’m super obsessed with the book and was very upset about things changing from what I considered the perfect book)
It was a nice way to slowly calm down about it not being everything i wanted out of it lol. I do think it would be a great movie if i was not so in love with the book though.
I don’t know if i want to see the film
As hollywood does have a habit of taking epic books and turning them into an epic turd of a film
And if i wait till it is on home release i can press pause and drink beer
Must. Resist. Listening. To podcast
Resolve. Weakening.
Must. Fight. Urge. To spoil.
Went to see “The Martian” on with my son Liam (16) on Saturday. Wow! Was blown away. The best movie of 2015. I loved the characters and story, and felt it was more of an exploration of the human condition than an SF movie. Kudos all.
I enjoyed the movie and felt it kept the spirit of the book, but it left out a lot of the hardship mark went through, especially the first rover trip and the last with the storm.
My inner geek wanted more science. This does not change the fact that I love this movie. And I hope that in a few years they’ll do a mini series. But for now it is a dream for another day.
PS. Look! A pair of boobs! -> (.Y.) (I missed this joke in the movie)
Didn’t really translate in the audiobook either :p
I kept thinking that they were limited to one F bomb as a PG-13 but there were two and then another one as a lip read.
I have not listened to this pod cast yet but my thoughts on what seems to be a great book and good movie are to see the movie first, then read the book. That way I can read the book and use it to fill in the details as opposed to reading the book first and have the movie not live up to my imagination. This is how I went into Jurassic park and I love both the book and movie. The Harry Potter movies on the other hand, which I saw after reading, no matter how good will, will never live up to the books. I just hope it works out and I end up with a new favourite book and movie.
The Blackboard with funny writing is a common thing among scientists. Sketching things helps some of us think and visualize things better 😀
And Science!
Were my wife and I the only ones who was somewhat underwhelmed by The Martian? I feel like it was just lacking a certain drama, perhaps because it tried to exist in the realm of reality but wasn’t actually a true story. interstellar really kept me on edge but was far enough outside our reality to be fantasy, and I think I have a hard time not thinking about that since it also *spoiler* had Damon stranded in it. If Martian was a true story, like Apollo 13, it would have more impact to me, and I can’t help but think when we actually go to Mars we’ll have real heroes like the ones who overcame in the past and we’ll make movies out of them. Haven’t read the book, just our thoughts.
I totally have “SCIENCE!” written on the white board in my lab right now.
Other such notes include:
-Write to-do list
-TEST (written next to something that I erased)
and my favorite
-Grants?
I like how the “anti-PC” crowd is now dictating how other people should feel when something off color is said that effects the person in question. You are essentially trying to stifle the offense someone felt about something that could be taken as transphobic because it might have to make someone think about continue using that joke.
One nod that made me laugh quite a bit (and also mentioned on the reddit thread):
Book: “If this were a movie, everyone would be waiting in the airlock for high fives”
Movie: Everyone is waiting for greetings and high-fives…WE DID IT GUYS!
I’m not “dictating how other people should feel”
^ That.
I liked the book and was really stoked for the movie both as an adaptation of a great novel and as a hard sci-fi movie.
I suspected most of the math and science would be left on the floor since it´s a movie and just talking about math for 10 min would be kind of boring. So that didn’t bother me too much but the passage of time did (or the lack thereof). Other than the brief look of a really thin Watney I didn’t get any real sense of 18 months going by. It felt like a month tops. Also, I feel Watney kind of took a second seat in the movie, it was nasa and the crew that did all the work, sure you get a couple of montages of Mark doing “science” and hard work but it´s so rushed that you don’t even feel that hes putting that much effort in to it.
I would tater that they had cut more of the nasa stuff and show more of Wantneys struggle, “Moon” comes to mind as movie with great pacing for really shoving the loneliness of a character.
Would love to hear what you guys think after a second viewing when the bluray is out, I´m gonna give it a second chans for sure.
Edit: And the gym on Hermes! Come on!!! I know you touched on it and Scott really likes his big set pieces but that set took me straight out of the movie.
Also, Adam wasn’t apologizing for the joke.
Adam was apologizing for the lack of context for what he said.
The joke isn’t the problem, but he realized that by not including context for his statement he wasn’t making it clear that the person making the joke was the idiot/target, and that the subject of the joke was not.
I’m pretty sure Fry would agree that choosing to not come across as a transphobic arsehole is a good thing.
“Duck Boooomb…” lol
The original final scene was this:
Watney finished his two slices of pizza and a coke. He had another half-hour to kill before going back to Johnson Space Center. Leaving the pizzeria, he sat on a public bench just outside.
Next week would be busy. He would be meeting the Ares-6 Engineer. He had read her file, but had never met her in person. He wouldn’t get much time to relax after that. The following six weeks would be filled with constant training as he tried to impart as much knowledge as he could.
But that was something to worry about later. Right now, he took a deep breath of the fresh air and watched the people go by.
“Hey, I know you!” came a voice from behind.
A young boy had strayed from his mother. “You’re Mark Watney!”
“Sweetie,” the boy’s mom said, embarrassed. “Don’t bother people like that.”
“It’s okay,” Watney shrugged.
“You went to Mars!” the boy said, his eyes wide with awe.
“Sure did,” Watney said. “Almost didn’t make it back.”
“I know!” said the boy. “That was awesome!”
“Sweetie!” The mom scolded. “That’s rude.”
“So Mr. Watney,” the boy said, “If you could go to Mars again, like, if there was another mission, and they wanted you to go, would you go?”
Watney scowled at him. “You out of your fucking mind?”
“Okay time to go,” the mom said, quickly herding the boy away. They receded into the crowded sidewalk.
Watney snorted in their direction. Then he closed his eyes and felt the sun on his face. It was a nice, boring afternoon.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/themartian/comments/39rzyx/psst_im_andy_weir_secret_ama_for_the_next_few/cs5yya3 (/u/sephalon is Andy Weir)
One thing I found out after watching The Martian was that Don Glover/Rich Purnell’s scene where he spits his gross coffee into a wire mesh dustbin is that when he slips and falls to the ground, that was not planned. He slipped for real but continued the scene, and Ridley Scott decided to keep it.
Adam has NOTHING to apologize for; stop being bullied, Adam! You didn’t take ANYTHING out of context, the person who CHOSE to be offended did! It’s patently ridiculous that you had to take time out of the podcast to say that!
There is a difference between being bullied and simply choosing to change your behaviour to not be a dick, even though it was unintentional. This was a case of the latter.
Thanks for that!
I saw the movie in 3D, and the landscape on Mars alone was worth the extra ticket price. My only gripe is that they were not able to fit all my favorite moments in the book due to time constraints.
BTW “Rich Purnell is a steely eyed missile man” not rocket man Will.
When Rich Purnell is in the “cold” server room. I think they were trying to convey Rich stealing time on the supercomputer to get his complex calculations completed. IMO
Agreed. It was pointed out to Adam that he might have been unintentionally insensitive. He found the offense to have (at least some) merit and that changing his behavior was cheap compared to the cost to others (all he has to do is stop saying a one-line joke to not offend a whole group of people). He’s not being bullied, he’s being rational.
For those that are wondering what the joke was that Adam didn’t repeat, I’ll post it here just so you don’t have to search for it yourself (like I did). There’s an episode in the Simpsons where a spoiler is made. A character says, “In other news, the chick in The Crying Game is really a man.” This joke is insensitive to transgender people who would prefer that others use prepositions for their gender identity.
Hope that helps!
way off topic…what is with the gun on the table?
Not that off topic. 😉 It´s the blaster from Blade runner, Adam´s got a collection of them.
double post
Saw this last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thought they did a good job adapting the main points of the story for the screen and the additions were, for the most part, in keeping with spirit of the book. There were a couple of points that made me frown though. Like Norm, I didn’t feel it was right to have Lewis take over in the airlock and rescue Watney. It felt like it was thrown in so there would be a Hollywood style moment of drama. The same with Watney doing his Iron Man thing. The risk was just too great.
I also thought the Beck travelling along the outside of the Hermes without a tether was a mistake. All it would take is one missed hand hold and that’s it, he’s floating off into space.
All in all though, well worth watching. Definitely gonna be getting this on blu-ray when it’s released.
Well, untethered EVAs have happened, though obviously not for several decades.
However, since the re-supply mission wasn’t planned and part of a normal procedure, it could be argued that they had to do the EVA untethered in order for that to be possible?
IIRC he didn’t actually need to move along the Hermes in the book, and I can’t remember why exactly he did so in the movie?
Just my 5-pennorth…
I’m pretty offended that Adam will no longer be using the excellent stock spoiler joke in future.
Of course it’s important to monitor what one says, and try conduct oneself in a civilised manner, but on the flip side some people just need to get the fuck over themselves.
— Spoiler —
I love you guys, but I’m going to pick a bone ala Norm.
I totally disagree with Adam and his defense of Goddard changing the end rescue with Commander Lewis. So much has been said by the Tested crew about the character of NASA Astronauts. Stealing Lewis from her role as commander so that she can cowboy rescue Watney, while ignoring the skills of Beck (the EVA specialist) is an egregious slight to the faith in their commander that Andy Weir spoke of (in The Talking Room) regarding Astronauts.
Couple that with Watney going “Iron Man” also detracts from Lewis’s command. Lewis explicitly tells him not to do it, but it happens anyway. And it’s a success.
Ultimately, Goddard undermines Commander Lewis, and severely damages any sympathy an audience may have for her because it’s clear that her decisions don’t lead to success unless her crew undermines her authority.
This decision is pure Hollywood, and fails to save time, enhance character, or strengthen plot. Rather, it is flash in the pan heroism that pales in comparison to experts being allowed to do their job admirably.
lol awesome
Adapting a book to film must be an incredibly difficult task. I imagine you have to brutal. I saw the film last night and loved it though I felt Watney almost had it too easy in the film. He just loads up the rover and drives to Ares 4 like he was taking a road trip?! I would have struggled to cut out the peril of that journey- especially the overturned rover.
I loved the NASA pullovers the crew wore. If anyone knows where I can get one…
I have not yet listened to the podcast. I’m going to air out my issues anyway. Loved the book. Was hopeful for the movie, but Hollywood could not
entirely hide it’s apparent distain for depicting hard science. Basic stuff. Watney covered the hole in the Hab where the airlock was with thin
plastic and duct tape. With that much
surface area there would have been around 50,000 lbs of force on that plastic
to hold atmosphere in the Hab. That’s
why when the seam failed the airlock shot out like a bullet. Yet we saw the plastic flapping in the breeze
after Watney repressurized the Hab. And when he cut a hole in his glove at the end, air shot out like it was at 3000psi not the
10psi or so that a spacesuit would contain. The movie was full of lame errors that could have been accurate at no cost
to the film. I guess Ridley Scott’s idea
of what would look cool is more important than science, and we’re not supposed
to know or care. Some compromises I
can understand, like depicting mars gravity similar to earth. Mars gravity is about the same as the moon so
Watney would actually have been bouncing around like an Apollo astronaut. That’s never been done in a mars movie before so it would
have been distracting. Or maybe it would
have been cool, because it’s Science!!!
I didn’t read the book, but I loved the movie. The ending/epillogue worked perfectly for me. Such a positive, inspiring note. So refreshing and rare to see in Science Fiction.
I can’t wait for the Mythbusters The Martian Special.
That duct-tape and plastic sheet repair withstanding an atmosphere of pressure is a prime candidate for testing, very curious to see how they test it. They’ve borrowed NASAs pressure-chambers before, but even then it isn’t exactly easy to build something like that.
Several comments.
I saw the movie last night (Monday). There were 4 people in the theater. Maybe they were in the theater upstairs… don’t know if it’s a better screen or not.
Mark Watney was a botanist, but also a trained member of the crew– everyone has to know how everything works. To quote Robert A Heinlein: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
I liked how you said that Watney’s do-it-yourself medical repairs were excellent in the “human visceral sense…”
You never commented on the music choices! I especially liked “Starman” by David Bowie and “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.
Whiteboards are important! Being able to sketch out a rough idea and let others poke at it in 2D is a great way to solve a problem. One time I made the comment “It doesn’t feel right.” Which led to more discussion until, finally, everything snapped into place. Then it ‘felt right.’
Did the previews hint that Watney had a family, and was surviving for them? (I never saw the previews) Watney didn’t survive for anyone other than himself!
The plastic and duct tape to re-seal the Hab also had several belt clamps around the plastic and the stub of the airlock. But the plastic >flumphing< in the breeze made me nervous!
Have you noticed that with the lens and camera you’re using, it’s like 3D– especially the parts when Norm leans forward or points at the camera!
Finally– concerning the 12-minute delay watching the final part of the rescue– I watched the last Mars rover landing– the 15 minutes of terror, as Mission Control couldn’t do anything but wait and hope and trust the code that was controlling a drogue shoot, a rocket-powered hover platform lowering a machine on a cable to the surface of Mars, then moving away from the area! It’s not a life at stake, but the tension is incredible when you can’t do a darn thing to fix any problems!
— A pair of boobs! -> (.Y.) Missed them in the movie! (;
–Paul E Musselman
re: Political Correctness–
There’s serious concern in academic circles these days about the ‘need’ to give the students advance notice about anything nasty or distasteful that’s going to be covered in class. There’s a feeling (among students, and some educators) that discussing things like rape, mass-murder, and the WWII Atrocities is so distasteful that they shouldn’t be discussed! Because it will make the student feel queasy and unsure about the world they’re supposedly being prepared to encounter. Or, something taught in class will trigger a flashback about a negative personal experience.
Are those students in for a shock when they hit the real world!
Google Search for “article about students offended by real-life issues”
–Paul E Musselman
The audio book had better acting than the movie and that was just one guy doing a dozen voices. I was greatly disappointed in this movie and can not understand the praise it’s getting. It’s a good movie for sure, but no where near “epic” so many reviews make it out to be.
My biggest issues are the performances of Jessica Chastain and Sean Bean, but I was cringing at almost every performance by every actor. The roles of mission commander and flight director are roles of tremendous authority and responsibility. Neither actor portrayed that. Compare the performances of Ed Harris during launch of Apollo 13 to Sean Beans during the Iris launch and you’ll understand. Sean Bean’s portrayal of Mitch was like the uncle with a drinking problem no one wants to talk about but they still allow to cut turkey at Thanksgiving because they feel sorry for him. The book captured the mentality of real astronauts, the movie captured the mentality of a crew at space camp. No wonder Watney got left behind.
Also as someone else mentioned, the dumbing down of all the female roles is the worst part of all. I had really high hopes when i heard they cast Jessica Chastain for Cmdr. Lewis, but its like they filmed all her scenes during a pre-call on a 2nd unit reshoot cover set day.
This movie is like the Lone Ranger, with a laundry list of the best people in the business making up the cast and crew given an established successful piece…how could it possibly fail? If it weren’t for Andy Weir’s book, this would be down there with Prometheus.
And the whole “they can’t fit an entire book into two hours” excuse is BS. The Martian is close to 2 and a half hours. Plenty of movies have done a great job of adapting a book to film to 2hrs or less. This was a rush job by a guy who doesn’t seem to care.
In regards to the ending, in the original self-published ending. Mark is on earth sitting on a bench and has an “encounter” with a child. I’ll leave this link here for those who want to read:
https://www.reddit.com/r/themartian/comments/3i07z0/spoilers_original_ending_to_the_book/
More tool more tools, come on guys enough of the spoilercasts (especially the Martian) not that i mind spoilercasts they are quite fun but it would be nice to hear about some of Adams workshop stories and stuff like that, I know im going to be the odd one out but hey ho, just adding my 2 penneth worth 🙂
My biggest problem, they completely cut out Watney’s Mechanical engineering background. They never once mentioned it in the movie, they just said he was a botanist.
No Stayin’ Alive montage!!
Paul, while that is an interesting conversation, and one that should have a fairly clear right/wrong (I mean, come on, damned kids these days) I fail to see the parallel here. There is a world of difference between walking into a classroom with the intent of discussing a subject in an academic context on one side, and telling/hearing a joke involving a trans-person being misgendered with little-to-no context in a podcast about a science-fiction film on the other.
For all we know the youtube-commenter was a Simpsons fan who by virtue of his/her position recognized that it came across somewhat differently on Still Untitled and figured that Adam is the kind of person who wouldn’t take it personally, or as an accusation, if someone said “you know, that joke really doesn’t come across all that well outside that Simpsons episode”.
There are some interesting debates to be had around humor and subjects that hit some people differently than others, in the end though no one is served by censorship nor by banning criticism (and for what it’s worth the podcast outright expects it as long as it is civil).
I find it funny that swearing and cursing seems to be the main focus of pg-ratings… In other parts of the world violence is the main concern…
Great podcast! I agree with many of your points. I also hate the fact that it is probably necessary to have Commander Lewis reach out for Watney in the end, and not Dr. Beck, just to end the movie in “The Hollywood-way”. I really struggeled with that for a second, but then realized that it had to be done to please the not-so-nerdy part of the audience.
Oh man,. I totally didn´t think of this. That would be an EXCELLENT episode,. Test the movie and book and compare.
Saw the movie a few nights ago,. just in time for the spoiler cast,. Beck doing the untethered EVA made me cringe. Such a tense moment,. Man overboard wouldn´t really do anything.
The movie felt a bit rushed at the start, and it´s really hard to enjoy it when you compare it to the book while watching it, eventually I eased into it. And it was exactly how imagined it to be. Might have to watch it again.
I´m trying to build the suit along with all the other people of therpf
The blu-ray is going to be awesome.
In the podcast you guys kept talking about the movie being under 2 hours but when I saw it it was almost 2.5 hrs long… was your early viewing a shortened cut or was it just so amazing that it simply felt like less than 2 hours?
I agree with the go-pro I assume we will have something better in the future. However Rubbermaids are timeless 😀
For me, I really liked the movie, I thought it wasn’t as intense or “deadly” as the book. Not just because he doesn’t have as many incidents (runtime is a fickle mistress) but the incidents he did have simply weren’t as death defying. The Airlock scene while it encapsulated the race for oxygen, the build up in the book of it taking hours to reach the tab to get back to his suite and into the rover had a larger build and better climax. The end scene, Lewis rescue aside, was much more intense as Johanssen counts down until the two crafts diverge too much, and Beck (or lewis) barely gets him out on time and pulls him back to the shuttle. That moment was far more scary, more harrowing then the onscreen moment.
But the things I missed the most were Mitch Hendersons speech. That’s the speech that drives people to dream of becoming an astronaut or become involved in space. It was really good in the book, and god knows Sean Bean can deliver.
And then the brief moment where Annie Montrose has the realization that every single documentary, report, film adaptation anything after this point will for ever quote or replay her words about Mark being alive. that’s a really really powerful statement.
Definitely the best movie of the year, though there are a few bones to pick with it. It definitely needed another half hour of Mars. I hope it comes in an extended form on Blu-Ray.
I definitely have to disagree about Commander Lewis as well. Part of her character is that she is the Commander and in charge. She uses her people where she needs them, and the blatant disregard for her position as the Commander does her a total disservice. I think it weakens the character overall. Though I do understand it from the relationship side of things. The Iron Man thing is forgivable, and I do think it requires her, and not Beck, but still kills her character.
I loved that they added the crane to the Rover, it was a simple way to remove some of the problems, and cut down on time. But they still kept a lot of the important drama.
Did they ever explain why the air lock exploded off the Hab? If they did I missed it, and that would have been pretty random for most people who went in without reading the book.
Also, they used the Space Pirate joke, while he was still in contact with NASA. Which makes no sense, he cannot explain the joke to them, and still actually be a pirate, it just doesn’t work.
Also, wasn’t he showing right before he left the Hab? They used it as the excuse to show the body double, and then still say I haven’t showed in a year an a half at the end? Yes he would still stink but it had not been that long.
apologizing because maybe somewhere someday a tranny might possibly be offended is the most BS thing I have ever heard or read on tested.
LOVED THE MARTIAN BOOK and spoiler cast – OFF to see the movie tomorrow.
I agree
Just finished reading the book again after seeing the movie.
At the end of the book, just after being rescued, Watney says “If this were a movie, everyone would have been in the airlock, and there would have been high fives all around.”
Which i found hilarious because that’s exactly how it happens in the movie. I really hope that was intentional.
It a lot of ways, Mark Watney is very much a classic Heinlein being, as in:
I think Norm will be a director someday….
the movie came out last night in Belgium so i went to see it. Loved it. I had read the book (a few times now) and had big hopes for the movie but was also afraid. It had less science that i wanted to, but it’s still very good. i do hope on a 3 hour extended cut version on blu-ray. also, as having been in wadi rum in Jordan where they filmed the mars scene’s it’s insane how perfect that location is. there is one location (the 7 pillars) where all they added in post production is a crater, but everything else is just as how it is.
Am I the only person who finds all the GoPros in a FUTURE NASA installation annoying? Everything else in that movie is beautiful “future tech” and then we have all these plastic cameras – even the old body style too? They even use the crappy (and heavy) plastic Gopro mounts – I don’t claim to know everything, but I’m 100% certain that NASA would use a lighter, stronger material for the camera mounts
As you can see, I just HATE when advertising trumps logic in movies.
Anyone else share my rant… or am I alone in my thoughts?
I agree about the GoPros – the extreme closeups of the camera killed the movie for me.
I read the book but couldn’t help thinking, while watching the movie, Mitch would mysteriously end up dead…
Yay! I just noticed the “Han Savage” Blockhead puppet in the case above Adam’s head! Proud that it’s on display in Adam’s shop!
http://puppet.place/005-han-savage.html
My only disappointment in the movie was the handling of NASA discovering that he is alive….In the book this was one of the most exhilarating parts…little disappointing in the movie…
Did it bother anyone else that in the movie they make a show of him being naked because he showered and shaved, then just a little bit later (persumably that same day?) Says he hasn’t taken a shower in forever. Like come on really?
I did not read the book. I thought the movie, on a technical level, was gorgeous. The art dept did an excellent job. Production design was awesome. That being said I thought the movie was pretty sterile, emotionally. I felt as if I was watching a documentary, and not really taking part in the protagonist’s journey. While likable, I was never invested in his safety or his returning home. I found the movie entertaining, but I was hoping for a more inspirational response to its story.
I thought the movie was unbelievably flat compared to the book. No real ups or downs. I got really excited when the airlock blew off and thought, “this is when Mark Watney really falls in spirit,” but was let down when it was so easy for him to get everything back up and running. I also disagree with the tested gang about the acting. Besides Matt Damon and Childish Gambino, I was not convinced by the acting.
Part of me thinks that it felt so flat because I had already read the book and knew what was going to happen. Maybe I’ll give it some time and watch it again.
Finally saw the film and loved it. I thought it did a great job of rewarding a smart audience, while also not alienating the less well read among us. Hopefully this inspires some to see the value of science in some small way.
Ps. Did anyone else get the weird “Alien” vibe from the instrumentation and typography in the opening title?
I wanted to love it, I really did. 🙁
Disappointing.
Completely agree.
I was pretty disappointed by the blinking lights on the bomb.
Loved this film when I saw it. Can’t wait to see it again, and purchase when it is released on Blu-Ray.
Question: Why does Norm always cover his face with the mic?
One question:
WHERE DID HE SHAVE??
At that point in the story, the Ares 4 MAV was gutted, the rover is too small, and the Ares 4 Hab wasn’t assembled yet, so where did that scene take place?? Completely yanked me out of the movie.
I agree with the those who disagree with Adam about Lewis taking over at the end. You have an EVA Specialist. He is, by definition, the most well-trained EVA person on the boat. He’s got the best chance for success if he needs to improvise. He’d probably remember that he’s wearing a jet pack at the end and use it to close the distance to Watney instead of relying on bad physics, etc., etc. *rant brewing… must… change… topic…*
Pre-final rescue, Beck says “we’ve connected all the tethers together. It’s about x meters long.” Then we watch the tether unspool in one long, continuous, ribbon of orange webbing. Man, they did a nice, thorough job of connecting them.
Awesome book, great podcast, good movie with some issues, especially at the end.