The Martian (2015)

An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Drew Goddard (screenplay by), Andy Weir (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 39 wins & 188 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Mark Watney
Jessica Chastain	...	Melissa Lewis
Kristen Wiig	...	Annie Montrose
Jeff Daniels	...	Teddy Sanders
Michael Peña	...	Rick Martinez
Sean Bean	...	Mitch Henderson
Kate Mara	...	Beth Johanssen
Sebastian Stan	...	Chris Beck
Aksel Hennie	...	Alex Vogel
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Vincent Kapoor
Benedict Wong	...	Bruce Ng
Mackenzie Davis	...	Mindy Park
Donald Glover	...	Rich Purnell
Nick Mohammed	...	Tim Grimes
Shu Chen	...	Zhu Tao

Storyline

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return.

---

Plot Keywords:

astronaut | space habitat | left for dead | nasa | presumed dead | 

---

Taglines:

Help is only 140 million miles away

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

2 October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Martian 3D

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$108,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$54,308,575, 4 October 2015, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$228,433,663

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$629,281,283

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, TSG Entertainment, Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 151 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1 Datasat SDDS Auro 11.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The forward antenna on the Hermes (the one with the large round dish flanked by two smaller ones) is the same as the AE-35 antenna on the spaceship Discovery, that was featured as a pivotal plot point in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

---

Goofs

Martinez announces that he's shutting down the MAV's 2nd-stage engines, even though he knows the capsule isn't high enough. He should let the engines burn all their fuel.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Melissa Lewis: All right team, stay in sight of each other. Let's make NASA proud today.
Rick Martinez: How's it looking over there, Watney?
Mark Watney: Well, you will be happy to hear that in Grid Section 14-28, the particles were predominately coarse but in 29, they're much finer and they should be ideal for chem analysis.
Rick Martinez: Oh, wow. Did everybody hear that? Mark just discovered dirt.
[laughs]
Rick Martinez: Should we alert the media?

---

Crazy Credits

Disco music, which had been a running gag throughout the film, is played during the ending credits. Appropriately, the first song played is "I Will Survive," which features the lyric "And so you're back, from outer space."

---

Alternate Versions

In June of 2016, an extended cut was released on Blu-Ray and Ultra HD 4K Blu-Ray that adds 10 additional minutes of footage.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Annette Bening/Judd Apatow/SZA (2017)

---

Soundtracks

Turn the Beat Around (Love to Hear Percussion)
Written by Peter Jackson (as Peter Jackson Jr.) and Gerald Jackson
Performed by Vicki Sue Robinson
Courtesy of RCA Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

fun thrilling space adventure

The Ares III manned mission encounters a sand storm on Mars. Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left for dead as the rest of the crew evacuate on their spacecraft. Mission control back on Earth is shocked when they discover that Mark is actually alive and alone on Mars.

Simply put, this is a fun space adventure. There is a good deal of Apollo 13 and Gravity. Damon is humorous and engaging. Meanwhile, the mission control back on earth is doing interesting things. Nobody is the villain. Jeff Daniels is a capable bureaucratic leader. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives the team intensity and has fun scenes with Mackenzie Davis. Almost every side character adds to the group. As for the spacecraft, it's interesting to have Jessica Chastain as the commander. The entire cast is great. The whole story is thrilling. There are unexpected turns. It has the feel of reality. A lot of praise has to be given to director Ridley Scott for a well constructed film. Also it's genius to give it a disco soundtrack.