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Mars Needs Damon

Andy Weir has a great story. And I don't mean "The Martian" - his novel about a solitary astronaut stranded on Mars when a dust storm forces his crew to evacuate the planet. But that's also a great story. No, I'm talking about how Mr. Weir, after being turned down by literary agents, self-published his novel online, eventually becoming a Kindle best seller before being picked up by a publisher, debuting on the New York Times best seller list and being adapted into a big budget Hollywood film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. It's the kind of pop culture success story that would certainly amuse Mr. Weir's wisecracking lead character, Mark Watney.

Mr. Damon is a good choice to play Watney. Though the actor doesn't immediately scream "space botanist", he's easily believable as a quick-thinking Martian MacGyver who's able to cobble together ad-hoc survival tactics on the Red Planet for 800-plus days (or "sols", as they're called in space parlance) with nothing but his own ingenuity to support him. Watney isn't a superhero, he's just a really smart astronaut with the ability to "science the sh-t" out of problems. He does, however, seem to possess a superhuman ability not to be deterred (despite Mars' best efforts) or to get at all depressed about his situation. That requires a pretty significant suspension of disbelief but, then again, this movie takes place on Mars, so that may not be a problem.

If you enjoyed Mr. Weir's exceedingly detailed novel, you'll certainly appreciate seeing it brought to the screen in all its geek glory. Watch as Watney does the calculations to extend his rations; thrill as he jury-rigs a decaying radioactive isotope to act as a portable heater; gag as he uses his own waste as fertilizer for Mars' first potato crops. It's like "science porn".

All along, the story is propelled, as it was in the book, by Watney's diary (in the film, a video log is used). It gives a chance for Mr. Damon to lighten the mood (which can get pretty science-y) and Mr. Weir to flex his heavily researched muscles.

Of course, what Mr. Weir's story - and likewise the script by Drew Goddard - has in scientific detail, it lacks in character development. Aside from Watney, we're introduced to his crewmates (who leave him behind after he's presumably killed in the storm): Jessica Chastain, returning to space after "Interstellar", Michael Peña, Kate Mara and Sebastian Stan, all doing what they can with underwritten roles. And then there's the folks on Earth who tirelessly attempt to bring our boy back home. Jeff Daniels essentially plays his "Newsroom" character, Will McAvoy, as the director of NASA. Kristen Wiig (yes, Kristin Wiig!) lends a few good reaction shots as a beleaguered PR rep. Meanwhile, Chiwetel Ejiofor does a nice job humanizing his character, and Donald Glover creates some fun moments as a somewhere-on-the-Spectrum astrodynamics whiz. And that's just scratching the surface of a cast which also includes Sean Bean.

While the visuals are stunning and the pace never lags, it's not clear that "The Martian" needed the directorial heft of Ridley Scott. But maybe that's why he chose it. The film is certainly Mr. Scott's most lighthearted sci-fi entry to date, and maybe he needed it as a respite after the over-wrought blunder that was "Prometheus".

They say, as an actor, it's dangerous to share the screen with kids or animals. Well it turns out that sharing the screen with science is a lot of fun. Those with an affinity for Mr. Weir's novel will certainly find a lot to love here. Those not so inclined may find themselves counting the sols til it's over.