Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Donald Glover, Mackenzie Davis
Director: Ridley Scott
That rain-riffed rugged terrain on the red planet we’ve been perusing in print and broadcast of late, could well have featured in Ridley Scott’s new sci-fi opus starring Matt Damon as the titular hero. But Mr Scott completed the film well before NASA’s release of those wondrous images whose absence, dare I say it, does not diminish viewers’ enjoyment of Mars’ rugged (mad Max-Fury Road -like) splendour. (Or Damon’s toned abs before they are whittled down by near-starvation)
The religious and cerebral factor might be smaller here, than say Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity or Philip Noyce’s Interstellar, but Scott’s exciting adaptation of Andy Weir’s self-published best-seller about hope, endurance, bravery, teamwork, courage and survival scores high in helming, visual splendour, production values, thrills and gritty performances by a stellar ensemble cast, and above all, the talented Mr Damon.
Chiwetel Ejiofor steps into the shoes of our very own Irrfan Khan as a NASA scientist (Mr Khan was unable to accommodate the Scott offer in his busy schedule). Accordingly, the character was tweaked from full-bloodied Indian to Indian-American (“My dad’s a Hindu, mother is Baptist”) hence the name, Dr Vincent Kapoor.
Flame-haired Jessica Chastain is Commander Lewis, chief of a six member exploratory mission which includes Damon as Mark Watney, who is left behind, assumed dead during a raging sandstorm which forces the astronauts to abruptly abandon the arid planet. Botany, resourcefulness, self-deprecating humour, pep talk and a crucifix keep Watney, the Mission’s botanist, alive as he tries to figure out how to survive with depleting food rations while NASA decides it is better to not endanger the mission’s return and accordingly, withhold information from his team-mates that he is still alive. When they are forced to reveal the truth,a global gaggle of scientists pool resources and the Lewis team makes heroic efforts to bring the stranded spaceman home (the character played by Sean Bean even sacrifices his career).
The presence of the fictional Dr Kapoor on the team on terra firma is good, but my naively nationalistic heart would have liked it even better if ISRO staffers (especially the silk-clad, gajra-haired women scientists) had brief cameos alongside the Chinese team. Oh well. Maybe, another time, another film on…how about Venus? After all, as the title of a bestseller goes, Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars
