Ten Years Ago, the Renowned Actor Led a Cutting-Edge Sci-Fi Hit That Could Have Been Far More Bleak.
The author Andy Weir’s futuristic story The Red Planet Survival Story became an instant bestseller upon its release during 2014, but despite its popularity, it made for a surprising selection as a high-cost movie project. Originally self-published, the book leans strongly on the inner thoughts of the space botanist and engineer the character Mark Watney detailing with great care about how he survives once left behind upon the Martian surface through cultivating potatoes and pulling parts off former mission equipment. The novel features little conversation and heavy on explanations of chemical reactions.
However, filmmaker Ridley Scott and scribe Drew Goddard delivered a captivating film in The Martian, which premiered 10 years ago today on October 2, 2015. Matt Damon excellently portrays what makes Watney such a compelling protagonist: his optimistic outlook combined with nerdy wit banish the existential dread of a situation where his chances of survival are extremely low. Much as the original story, the picture delivers believable futuristic fiction, loaded with comedy and suspense. Still, the production team was forced to introduce some concessions to the medium, allocating additional scenes to the mission control team working to recover Watney, and including heightened drama for the finale. And those changes came at the expense of a couple of the top parts from Weir’s original novel.
A Story About Calorie Counting
The Martian Saga focuses on nutritional calculations. The protagonist constantly calculates his dietary needs required for survival, while NASA tries to figure out methods to supply additional provisions. Once a mishap wipes out the astronaut’s spud garden and a rapidly put-together space-bound supply delivery detonates following liftoff, Watney’s sole chance turns into a save attempt by his former colleagues who mistakenly abandoned him.
Both versions explicitly state that this plan, which involves the Ares III team orbiting around our planet and returning to Mars for the rescue, is very perilous. Still, the author creates a stronger link among the threats confronting every crew member.
The Grim Backup Strategy
The spacecraft has to retrieve its dedicated provision craft to have enough food and water to complete the round trip to the red planet. Should that not work, the team possesses a grim alternative strategy: all members aside from the tech expert the character Beth Johanssen (acted by Kate Mara) would commit suicide. The lone survivor, Beth, due to her youth and petite size, would resort to cannibalism for survival. Once the Ares III successfully obtains the provisions, the eased astronauts humorously discuss who Beth would have eaten first. That’s quite macabre wit, so the reasoning for its exclusion is apparent, however, I value the plot’s precision by having all personas struggle against the brutal facts of off-world life. This also highlights their readiness to sacrifice themselves, not merely to rescue Watney.
The Dramatic Silence Period
The movie version additionally omits the nail-biting segment from The Martian in favor of spending more time toward the saving endeavor elements occurring in orbit. In the original text, the protagonist loses his capacity to contact mission control, stranding him without support for the final section of the story. Watney then has to navigate to a craft designated for an upcoming Martian expedition. This travel is endangered because of a particulate storm that will hinder his transport’s photovoltaic panels from replenishing and ultimately trap him. Mission control is aware of the approaching storm, yet cannot alert him. They are kept in tense expectation to observe whether Watney will realize the situation and modify his strategy, or whether all their efforts to rescue him will prove pointless.
Once more, it’s understandable this segment was removed from the film. Continuous communication involving Watney and others makes the film more dynamic. But part of me still wishes Goddard and Scott had been a bit gutsier and trusted Damon to maintain segments during his solitary struggle with nature, while the secondary characters are positioned in an analogous position to the viewers: ineffectively praying for a positive outcome.
Expecting New Cinematic Versions
The writer is going back to Weir’s stories by adapting his recent 2021 publication Project Hail Mary Tale, releasing in 2026 and directed by filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Like The Martian, the story highlights a solitary cosmonaut using his knowledge and ingenuity to stay alive. Ryan Gosling is set to take on a similar character to Damon’s: a movie star charismatic enough to maintain multiple isolated shots while landing Weir’s idiosyncratic humor. I wish that version proves equally excellent as The Martian, but in any case, perusing the original book is highly recommended to discover what gets lost in adaptation.
