The Martian is soon to land in theaters on October 2, but recently a set of the new TV spots have dropped, and they pack a serious punch. Especially with Matt Damon leading the charge.
The story (adapted from Andy Weir’s 2011 novel of the same title) follows astronaut Mark Watney as he fights to survive on Mars after he is left behind and thought to have been killed during a storm. As Watney relies on some creative survival skills, the NASA home team constructs a bold rescue mission to bring him home.
Director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) helmed The Martian and, so far, it looks nicely edged and presentable, but that’s it. Scott has been on many fans and critics’ last nerve, mainly in the sci-fi genre. Prometheus was a disaster (although sporting some beautiful special effects) and set back that franchise quite a bit. He has also struggled with finding balance on his recent films on a whole, aside from American Gangster. Exodus, The Counselor and Robin Hood all attempted to tackle large stories, but could never garner the right elements for them to hit the nail on the head. That being said, we still have hope.
Scott belongs in sci-fi. It’s his best genre and one he can do better than anyone if he loosens up. Here’s to having faith that The Martian can break the mold for Scott and blast him back to the top of the sci-fi list where he belongs.
Let us know, do you think Ridley Scott can make a comeback with The Martian?
