Parental Guidance Content at a Glance for this PG-13 rated film…

Sexual Content/Nudity/Themes of Sexuality and Romance:  A male character is seen naked from behind as he changes out of his space suit. 

Violence/Gore/Scary Content: One scene shows a man who, after an antenna impales his abdomen, performs surgery on himself to remove the pieces and patch himself up. It shows the surgery up close and in person — quite detailed and very realistic. If detailed surgical images — i.e. like those live surgery shows on TV — have ever made you squeamish and/or sick to your stomach, you may want to close your eyes during the surgery scene. In other scenes we see a man with all sorts of wounds — bruises, scars, burns — all over his body from his months of grueling survival.

Language: Two f-words spoken. Several written f-words on computer screens but not fully spelled out. Several other swear words scattered throughout (a few s-words). God’s name used several times.

Alcohol/Drug/Smoking Content: None.

Entertainment Value and Film Craft

The film is special because it’s hilarious. Yes, this is absolutely a space drama/thriller with plenty of stress-you-out moments of impending disaster. But it also a joyous comedy. And somehow the comedy — executed to perfection by Matt Damon — makes the film more believable. In such an extreme situation — a man finding himself marooned on a deserted planet millions of light years from home — it’s very likely that the man would do all he can to find levity and humor in every moment to, at the very least, keep his spirits up and stay sane.

 

Yet in so many epic space movies where someone’s life is constantly on the line, the writers transform the characters into intensely dramatic and emotional characters who quote profound maxims and make philosophically in-depth observations about existence at every turn. How exhausting. Who, in their right mind, would weigh their already stressed out minds with tragic Hamlet-like soliloquies? No. I think it’d be more likely that the person would be yearning for laughter, not melancholic tears.

 

That’s what this movie does so well, and that’s the unique selling point that makes it one of the best space adventure movies ever made.

 

Oh, and the visuals of Mars are stunning — especially the aerial shots. I’m not sure if he used CGI, desert landscape on Earth that resembles Mars, or a combination of both, but whatever Ridley Scott did, it worked gloriously.

 

I also love the Lord of the Rings reference in the scene where Sean Bean (who played Boromir in Lord of the Rings and has become famous on Internet memes for his scene during the Council of Elrond) actually names one of the NASA documents “The Council of Elrond” as he is sitting in a similar council at NASA to make a hugely important decision. That was a great Easter Egg.

 

Another funny little detail: they mention Iron Man in the film, and, coincidentally (or not), two of the actors who play astronauts have had starring roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Sebastian Stan who plays Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier in the Captain America films and Michael Pena who played Luis in “Ant-Man.”

Themes of Redemption, Speculation about the Film’s Worldview

In one scene, Mark Watney the astronaut stranded on Mars, is looking for flammable objects that he can use to create fire for one of his solutions to his survival dilemma. He finds a fellow astronaut’s wooden Crucifix. Watney uses a knife to carve off a few small shavings from the side of the Cross to help start the fire, and he looks at Jesus and says, “Given my current circumstances, I’m sure you won’t mind. I’m counting on you.”

It’s mostly meant as a moment of humor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone could find some deeper meaning there — though I’m not sure it’s enough to build a cohesive theory about what kind of specific worldview fuels this film, if any.

And I won’t say too much because I won’t give any spoilers away, but there are heavy themes of redemption in this film. As I mentioned in the intro, although it’s extremely inspiring to see so many brilliant people work together for a common good, this movie isn’t really a chest-pounding, “Behold the human race, we have become like the Most High and are the lords of the universe,” type of humanism-on-steroids affair. The film goes out of its way to show our frailties, our moments of pure (and hilarious) stupidity, and our desperate need for grace — i.e. unmerited favor. Sure, you can argue that Watney earned the favor and help of the world by his amazing exploits and undeterred sense of humor, but he was also a recipient of unmerited kindness — people (and other countr
ies who had nothing to gain) risking their lives or vast amounts of resources to save him when they really had nothing to gain from it and everything to lose.

Conclusion: One of the Best Movies Ever Made. Period.

In terms of pure film craft, storytelling, and the execution of the story, “The Martian” is one of the best movies ever made. I think history will bear that out.

It’s also a wonderfully inspiring, endearing story that, like astronaut Mark Watney, will disarm you with its never-give-up humor, its inspiring portrait of grace, and the simple joy of being alive against a backdrop of impossible adversity.

My rating for “The Martian”: [usr 9.5] (See my notes below on the rating scale.)

[NOTE: If you’re a fan of C.S. Lewis or U2, please be sure to read our editor Kevin’s new blog Stabs of Joy, which explores 18 C.S. Lewis books and 13 U2 albums to answer one question: how do we really experience Christ’s joy — and not just talk about it — during seasons of sorrow and difficulty?]

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Note about my rating system for the movie’s film craft and entertainment value:

1 star = one of the worst movies ever made (the stuff of bad movie legends), and it usually (not always) has below 10% on Rotten Tomatoes

2-3 stars = a mostly bad movie that has a handful of nice moments; it usually falls between 10-30% on Rotten Tomatoes

4-6 stars = a decent movie with some flaws, overall. Four stars mean its flaws outweigh the good. Five stars mean equal good, equal bad. Six stars mean it’s a fairly good movie, with some great moments even, that outweigh a few flaws. A 4-6 star rating usually means it falls between 30-59% on Rotten Tomatoes (but not always).

7-9 stars = a rare rating reserved only for the best movies of that year; and a film must have a Fresh Tomato rating (60% or higher) on Rotten Tomatoes to be given 7 stars or higher, with a few exceptions (if I strongly disagree with the critics).

10 stars = one of the best films of all time, right up there with the all-time greats (i.e. Casablanca, The African Queen, Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars Episode IV, Indiana Jones, etc.).

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