The Binge Movie Mix – The Martian

The Binge Movie Mix – The Martian

Ever see a movie and think “This movie was just like that other one because of X, Y and Z”?  I feel that way too, and for better or worse almost every movie is a product of what has come before it.  I believe that most movies can be explained by comparing them to other films, so I break down the top three films that I believe contain the crucial elements that make up the film in question.  This week’s entry is The Martian.

The Martian was a pretty big critical success, raking in a worldwide total of $319,197,016 so far.  The film still has legs and audiences have responded positively to the sci-fi drama.  When releasing a film, timing has a lot to do with how it is received, both in terms of the time of year and even the era in which it was released.  The Martian has definitely benefited from a gap in quality theatrical releases, and as such is getting a ton of fans saying it’s an original and new type of film.  While the film is really solid and possibly one of the year’s best, it definitely wears it’s influences on its sleeve.  So how do you make The Martian?  The recipe calls for three parts:

Part 1 – Cast Away

Cast Away was a big movie back in 2000 and it still stands as one of the acting pinnacles of Tom Hanks’ career.  With director Robert Zemeckis, the story of Chuck Noland’s fight to survive was filled with raw emotion, talent and centered around the main character’s intelligence and will to survive.  Sound familiar? The Martian borrowed heavily from Cast Away in terms of writing and acting.  Replace the volleyball Wilson with Watney’s video diaries and you start to see the similarities even further.  The fact that Scott’s film borrows from Zemeckis’ only cements both stories as solid pieces of entertainment.

Part 2: Apollo 13

Noticing a theme here?  By no fault of his own, the indirect influence of Tom Hanks is all over The Martian.  Apollo 13, the based-on-a-true story account of the ill-fated NASA mission to the moon is, much like Cast Away, another brilliant piece of acting from Hanks.  This time with Ron Howard at the helm, the film does a really great job of conveying the triumph of scientific achievement in the face of overwhelming adversity.  Through their communication with NASA and the resourcefulness of the astronauts, the men made it home safe.  Despite the fact that Apollo 13 is a true story and that this event actually happened, the sequence of events is eerily similar to Watney’s experience.  It’s easy to see that, again, whether it was Mark Waid’s source novel or Drew Goddard’s script, they went with the “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” approach and reworked this plot for new audiences.

Part 3: Saving Private Ryan

The more perceptive of you could probably see this one coming, but make no mistake; Saving Private Ryan has a critical element of the mix.  To quote the goddamn poster, “This time, the mission is a man.”  There is no The Martian without a stranded Mark Watney, and as such Matt Damon proves he will always need saving.  There’s something about Damon that makes him seem like a survivor, and for whatever reason we buy him in that role.  Between this movie, The Martian and Interstellar, Damon is Hollywood’s go-to “man-sel in distress” these days.

So there you have it.  The awkward love-child of Cast Away, Apollo 13 and Saving Private Ryan gives you The Martian.  We’re not saying that Matt Damon is taking over for Tom Hanks but it kinda seems like Matt Damon is taking over for Tom Hanks.  I can’t decide if that’s douche chilly or cool as hell.  At this pace I wouldn’t be surprised if Damon’s next is a Bachelor Party/Toy Story/Turner and Hooch animated erotic murder mystery.  Fingers crossed.

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