THE MARTIAN

Introduction

● The Martian is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt
Damon. Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay from The Martian, a 2011 novel by
Andy Weir. The film depicts an astronaut's lone struggle to survive on Mars after
being left behind, and the efforts of NASA to rescue him and bring him home to
Earth.

● Produced through 20th Century Fox, the film is a co-production of the United
Kingdom and the United States. Producer Simon Kinberg began developing the
film after Fox optioned the novel in March 2013, which Drew Goddard adapted
into a screenplay and was initially attached to direct, but the film did not move
forward. Scott replaced Goddard as director, and with Damon in place as the main
character, production was approved. Filming began in November 2014 and lasted
 approximately seventy days. Twenty sets were built on one of the largest sound
stages in the world in Budapest, Hungary. Wadi Rum in Jordan was also used for
exterior filming.

● The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on September
11, 2015, while the London premiere was held on September 24, 2015. The film
was released in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2015, and in the United
States on October 2, 2015, in 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D and 4DX. It received positive
reviews and grossed over $630 million worldwide, becoming Scott's
highest-grossing film to date, as well as the 10th-highest-grossing film of 2015. The
Martian received praise for its direction, visual effects, musical score, screenplay,
scientific accuracy, and likability, largely due to Damon's performance. It received
several accolades, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture –
Musical or Comedy, seven nominations at the 88th Academy Awards, including
Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Goddard, and the 2016 long form
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Damon won the Golden Globe Award
for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was nominated for several
awards including the Academy Award for Best Actor, the BAFTA Award for Best
Actor in a Leading Role, and the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor.

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The purpose of the movie

The Martian tells the story of Mark Watney, an astronaut on the Ares 3 mission to Mars.
After a terrible storm almost destroys the ship and the base, the crew of his ship believe
he is dead. Alone on the red planet, he has to survive until the next mission to Mars
arrives.

These are some points the movie makers might want us , the audience to learn from the
movie:

● Watney’s Struggle Adjustment in Terms of Acceptance of Situation Problems and

life events bring their consequences; either negative or positive. In certain
situations where there is no more solution, people are challenged to be brave and
honest to accept every situation even though it must be avoided. Stuck alone on
Mars for far longer than intended, Watney finds himself in an inhospitable
environment where, unlike on Earth, his body is not designed to survive.

● Watney’s Struggle Adjustment in Terms of Defence Mechanisms. The defence

mechanisms of Watney on Mars are motivated inside to be able to stand up
against their solitude on Mars. To relieve his own boredom on Mars, Watney
consoled himself by listening to music ,watching tv and writing in a log. The
entertainment can relieve boredom and make Watney feel he is not alone on Mars
but he feels also with his team. Such entertainment as his friend on Mars. And
from all the problems he faces, Watney hopes with confidence in God for his hope
to be as he wishes. The effort is something that is planned but for all that is
passed then it takes strength from within us that we can get from God the creator.

Watney’s Struggle Adjustment in Terms of Problem Solving. The movie helps us

visualize the way Watney approaches his problems of not having anything to
communicate with his crewmates and how he creates water and food for himself
on mars for survival.

● When asked what the director Ridley Scott wanted to convey through this movie
he said “ I think the film is about how no one is ever alone,” “When you see an
earthquake in Nepal and people coming to help, you realize that. When you see

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 any tragedy around the world and all the efforts to do something, you realize that.
That’s what I think the movie is about.” The audience would have in mind the
question of leaving a man behind, and the urgency of saving that person no
matter the risk, as Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Vincent Kapoor mobilizes a global effort on
behalf of Watney to, well, bring him home.

So, we could conclude that the purpose of the movie was to motivate the audience to
stay strong even during bad times.

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A brief pl analysis

“The Martian” was directed by the infamous director Sir Ridley Scott. Upon my first
experience with this movie I knew it would be a special movie, but not because of its
stunning visual effects or the acting skills portrayed by the cast, but how Scott discusses
the movie’s hidden message of the grander concept of unity. Back then I would say the
movie was a bit premature. When the movie dropped in theatres in 2015 we didn’t need a
movie that brought so many races and nationalities together as one. It’s important to
establish that a few years Scott decided to take upon this movie, the director’s brother
and self proclaimed director him Tony Scott had sadly committed suicide. Its important to
note that Scott felt alone throughout this. When the director was asked about what the
movie really was about he stated “I think how no one is really alone. When you see
tragedy around the world and all the efforts to do something, you resolve that. That’s
what the movie is about”.

It’s obvious that Scott had aligned himself to Mark Wattney. Throughout the movie the
character experiences the harsh reality of being alone and the character ‘s optimistic
perseverance is one of his greatest strengths. When Wattney uttered the words “I’m not
gonna die” we as an audience believed in him. Even if Matt Damon is the star of the
movie, Scott’s film managed to rely heavily on teamwork and unity. Scott even portrays
the diverse cultures of people who aren’t all men nor all white nor even American. It
united all the countries and also was shown in the movie ‘s ad campaign “bring him home
“. This tag line isn’t just exclusive but rather extremely inclusive. One such example
portrayed by Scott showing the power of unity is at the end where just before Hermes
picks up Mark, there’s an orchestrated and beautiful montage that showcases how the
world was reacting. The camera pans from New York Times Square to Beijing to London
where people all collectively await the result of the mission.

When The Martian concluded, it left me amazed. It’s an amazing film, one so touching
and heartfelt with focus more on being one than being an individual. With the tragedy
that is of covid-19, it’s really important to come together rather than drift apart. While films
like The Martian don’t save the world but they do however do a fantastic job to bring us
people together

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Movie Review

Abstract:
Making a film that deals with space travel is no mean feat. But when we have veteran
filmmakers like Ridley Scott at the helm- the man behind sci-fi hits like ALIEN (1979) and
PROMETHEUS (2012) -one expects nothing but the best. Based on Andy Weir’s novel by
the same name, THE MARTIAN outlines the fanciful journey of astronaut Mark Watney
(Matt Damon) who is presumed dead and left behind on a manned mission to Mars when
a storm hits the crew. However, Watney survives the storm and finds himself stranded on
the hostile planet, long after his shuttle has taken off. With limited supplies and an iron
will to survive, he draws up a plan to feed himself, stay alive and make contact with NASA
until the next mission lands on Mars. Does his farfetched plan succeed? Do his
crewmates come and get him? This forms the premise of the film.

The plot analysis of the movie:

The Martian is an extraordinary tale of Watney’s extreme optimism, courage, determination and
most importantly, ingenuity. Of course there are creative liberties but based on Andy Weir's novel,
the film is a fictional tale that's fascinating and plausible. From Watney trying to grow potatoes
and make water on Martian soil to fixing his blown up HAB (Habitation Module) by a plastic tarp
and duct tape, or wandering around the Martian surface and establishing contact with folks back
home — brilliantly witty Matt Damon drags you along with him, to his hostile world of loneliness
and uncertainty. His one-liners and crackling self talk saves the film from turning sluggish and
generic in portions.

In Watney’s iconic style, it’s about ‘sciencing the shit out of” your nightmares. His unflinching
determination and persistence to survive is a story you don’t want to miss. Go for it.

The film opens with a visual treat of the dizzying landscapes of Mars, as the crew which has
reached the final day of the Ares III Mars mission, comprising Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica
Chastain) and her crew of astronauts, including Mark Watney (Matt Damon), Beth Johanssen (Kate
Mara), Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan), Rick Martinez (Michael Pena), and Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie),
who were collecting samples of the red soil. In the interim, the four are warned by Beth
Johanssen and Rick Martinez that an approaching storm has intensified. Ditching the mission,
they head back to the safety of the shuttle; however Watney is hit by debris that punctures his
suit and whisks him away. The crewmates presume he’s dead and reluctantly take off.

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When Watney wakes from his concussion and makes his way back to the HAB (their base on
Mars), unable to communicate with his colleagues or NASA, the lone spaceman must rely on
science and his own ingenuity to devise a way to sustain himself on a planet devoid of all life.
He’s well aware that the next mission is years away. He begins to take stock of the resources,
only to find out that they will run out much before the Aries Four mission lands. Astonishingly, he
finds the drive to survive and give fate a chance. Using his skills as a botanist, a scientist and an
astronaut, he draws up a detailed plan to maximize his limited resources and travel to the Aries
Four landing site. Months later, the crewmates learn of his existence and are confronted with a
decision-should they turn around and get him back, risking their own lives? They contemplate a
rescue plan but as Watney puts it, ‘Space does not cooperate’.

An initial, severe tempest provides chaotic moments for “The Martian” to radiate an
“Alien”/”Prometheus” vibe before the suitcam and dashcam found-footage sequences begin to
cheapen the visuals (almost as if director Ridley Scott wanted to try his hand at the tired
technique). Fortunately, they’re interspersed with standard cinematography, plenty of suspense
(which Scott handles admirably), and even a moment of grisly, impromptu surgery (the kind of
brief, visceral violence the director never shies away from). The focus on dwindling food, water
(and its manufacturing when all of the research equipment is flame retardant), and oxygen,
potential breaches in shelter, and communication deficiencies tend to save the picture from
gimmicky digressions. Perhaps the greatest challenge could have been the extreme isolation and
its effects on the psyche, though this is almost altogether ignored.

Strangely, the overall look of the project is largely conflicting; the technology used on Mars and
for the Hermes transport resembles believable concepts for current space travel (or a
science-fact motif), while the NASA facilities and other earthbound locations appear just as
grounded in the present. But the technological advancements necessary for sending a manned
crew to the red planet are so far into the future that certainly there would be robots or drones or
driverless vehicles roaming about on Earth. In other words, the only concept that seems
excessively futuristic is the setting of Mars itself. If this whole adventure had been based on a
moon mission, there would be no conceptual discord

As for the story, Drew Goddard’s script (from the book by Andy Weir) attempts to work too many
narratives and an excess of characters into the exhausting running time. Watney’s ordeals are
fascinating and thrilling as he utilizes science and his special skills to overcome continuous – but
never contrived – obstacles, which generate plenty of humor and several triumphant scenarios. A
second plot intrudes into the timeline, featuring Lewis and her crew planning a daring rescue
mission, which is circuitous yet generally necessary. But when a third viewpoint (NASA’s mission
control center) butts into the already stuffed screenplay, the pacing drastically suffers. This
completely unnecessary smattering of bureaucratic employees (most having so little to do that
their jobs are never specifically detailed) adds nothing but political maneuverings, international
teamwork (itself containing even more factions of pointless supporting characters), and public

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relations issues, which strive to slow down the momentum. The constructing of a probe, the
orchestrations of launches, and the negotiations over information and timetables are
excruciatingly unwanted.

There’s also a bit of heavy-handed interplay among crewmembers and coworkers that creates
disappointing sentimentality. At least, when the bits of suspense arrive (mostly dealing with a lone
survivalist doing inspirational things), they’re handled with Scott’s veteran expertise and Damon’s
sensational screen presence. And, despite a coincidentally familiar cast and a theme of harrowing
cosmonautical misadventures, the film manages not to be anything like “Interstellar 2.

THE MARTIAN CREW

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CONCLUSION

The film's ecstatic peak is its most counter-intuitive sequence, a music montage near the
climax that interrupts the flow of the rescue action to show the astronauts on Mark's old
spaceship contacting their loved ones via satellite video: a husband shows his wife a record
album that he bought for her birthday, and a father delights his kids by floating through the
spaceship's interior in zero gravity, swallowing water globules like a porpoise going after
minnows. Billions gather to watch the rescue on live TV at the end, but nowhere else do we
get the impression that all other drama has ceased while humanity frets over Mark's fate.
For Mark it's life or death, but we infer that there are long stretches when the public has
forgotten that he's stranded. The most significant recurring images in the film are closeups
of sprigs sprouting from the potatoes that Mark buried in his greenhouse. Life goes on no
matter what.

The Martian always leans more towards comic than serious. The initial comparisons to
Gravity and Interstellar (weirdly, another space movie starring Damon and Chastain) will
feel as distant as Mars itself. It's so fun that even science becomes an enjoyable topic. It
doesn't hurt that a manic pixie just-got-out-of-bed Donald Glover does the crazy
mathematics, figuring out the most efficient way to save Watney. (Glover's appearance in
the film is as unnecessary as it is entertaining.) The plot is as straightforward as it
gets—"bring him home," as the tagline reads—but the actual calculations, and the
calculated comedy that go into his survival will tug at the hearts of every inner nerd. (And if
the botanical or mathematical parts don't do it for you, maybe the casual Lord of the Rings
reference made in front of Sean Bean will.)

The Martian is a fun ode to nerds, and thanks to the magic of Hollywood, you get to ogle at
astronauts who look like Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain (the stuff of dreams—or, rather,
movie make-believe). It also comes neatly packaged in a Hollywood happily-ever-after—a
triumph after a near-impossible mission and an inspirational montage in between (this one,
appropriately, set to David Bowie's "Starman"). At over two hours long—keeping in tradition
with epic-long space films—The Martian never feels toiling. Instead, you'll leave the theater
wanting to go home and science the shit out of something.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to our teacher Professor
Divya J as well as the HOD Dr R.V Sheela who gave us the golden opportunity to do
this wonderful project on the topic social media, which also helped us in doing a lot
of research and we came to know about so many new things we are really thankful
to them. This project’s completion is because of the effort and teamwork of all the
team members with assistance of lecturers.

Secondly we would like to thank our parents who helped us a lot in finalizing this
project within the limited time frame.

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