A planetary scientist's review of The Martian

andyc (Andy) · #1 30-09-2015, 10:19 PM

Just thought you guys would be interested in a planetary scientist's take on Ridley Scott's new film. Both my wife Helen and I loved the book - but she was lucky enough to get to go to a preview screening of the film and has since written a review, which is headlining The Conversation at:
https://theconversation.com/the-mart...nce-fact-48373

Our favoured title was "One does no simply... rescue someone from Mars" seeing as who Sean Bean plays in the movie, but the editor was having none of that

I'll be seeing the film tomorrow with the normal people!

brian nordstrom (As avatar) · #2 01-10-2015, 11:58 AM

Quite funny you say that , this is one of the few SiFi movies my darling wants to go and see with me she usually is not that interested , I am looking forward to seeing this.
Brian.

LewisM · #3 02-10-2015, 06:31 PM

Andy, I have often wondered if I am related to your wife.... the surname is nor overly common, and most other Maynard's I have met I have been related to, including most of the ones I met in the UK etc

(and yes, the cartoonist too, who shares the EXACT same name as my father

)

As to the movie, I refuse to ever miss a Scott movie, so I will go in the next few days

LewisM · #4 04-10-2015, 12:59 PM

Well, I went and saw it.

Loved it mostly. Not a thorough adaptation of the book and missing some plot which I think were some of the more interesting aspects of the book, but nonetheless, a nice adaptation.

Needed a little more Mars and less NASA, but still for the most part it was well handled.

iceman (Mike) · #5 05-10-2015, 08:30 PM

Brilliant book.
Brilliant movie.

Thoroughly enjoyed both. I enjoyed the book more; funnier and more detailed.

but they couldn't make the movie 3 hours long

I look forward to watching it again.

AdrianF (Adrian) · #6 06-10-2015, 10:51 AM

Enjoyed the book cant wait to see the movie

Adrian

LewisM · #7 06-10-2015, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman

but they couldn't make the movie 3 hours long

I wish they had actually, but I am sure Fox dumbed it down for US audiences who cannot sit for longer than 2 hours

Prometheus for example was substantially longer originally, and had FEW plot holes. NOW look at the mess Fox did with it. The movie became almost meaningless.

Anyway, The Martian is indeed a good film. As I mentioned it was missing a few more of the "thinking" aspects, but excellent overall. I think Matt Damon was a superb choice for Whatney too - kind of who I had in mind reading the book before Ridley made it into a film.

The_bluester (Paul) · #8 06-10-2015, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LewisM

Andy, I have often wondered if I am related to your wife.... the surname is nor overly common, and most other Maynard's I have met I have been related to, including most of the ones I met in the UK etc

(and yes, the cartoonist too, who shares the EXACT same name as my father

)

As to the movie, I refuse to ever miss a Scott movie, so I will go in the next few days

Similarly a question, do either of you have any relatives around Gundagai? I have a mate by the name Maynard there.

On topic, I am looking forward to seeing the movie but I reckon it will not be until I go on long service leave at the end of this month.

Dealy (Kev) · #9 06-10-2015, 12:48 PM

Saw it last night - a great movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even my non-science fiction liking wifey loved it.

Who would have thought ABBA would feature on the soundtrack to a sci-fi?

.

andyc (Andy) · #10 08-10-2015, 07:06 PM

Lewis, if you can trace your family history back to East London, then the answer is very probably yes! We know that 99% of Helen's rellies hail from there back quite a few generations, places like Poplar and West Ham (Helen was born in Barking [

], grew up in Cambridgeshire, the first known generation of her family not to grow up in London). That obviously doesn't rule out an Australian connection via emigration of your ancestors, maybe the bad egg in the family?

I enjoyed the movie too, sumptuous landscapes and decently faithful to the superb source material. Very believable scenery, though it might've been nice to vary from the Wadi Ram backdrops at some point during his 3000km travels from Acidalia Planitia to Schiaparelli. Matt Damon made a good Mark Watney too. Though as an XKCD What If aficionado, I'd have loved to have seen more of the number-crunching survival experimentation, but for a Hollywood flick it was well done.

AdrianF (Adrian) · #11 08-10-2015, 09:57 PM

Watched the movie today wished I had left it at the book or watched the movie first. Was not impressed

Adrian