Ridley Scott hasn’t made a film that lives up to his name in ten years (and even that film was butchered during its theatrical release. …It’s Kingdom of Heaven, by the way). While Prometheus has its defenders, it’s hard to argue that the seventy-seven year old director has put out a product that has been met with widespread acclaim in the last decade. Will The Martian change that?
There’s a lot to digest with this first trailer for the film, so let’s do just that.
As a trailer, it’s pretty bad. It’s overlong and spoils some big chunks of the story. It’s also yoinking the music from the first Mad Max: Fury Road trailer near the end. Thanks, The Martian, for making me want to see that again.
Speaking of Prometheus, I’m kind of shocked at how much of this movie resembles Scott’s controversial Alien prequel/remake (premake?), especially the sequence involving a dust storm and an astronaut getting yanked around in the air. Was Prometheus something of a dry run for the things Scott wanted to pull off in this movie? If so, that means that The Martian is probably going to look fantastic. There’s definitely some Interstellar bits spattered throughout this as well (even plugging in Jessica Chastain for good measure), and as far as aesthetics go, that’s a plus.
The cast! Who isn’t in this movie? When Donald Glover did a slow motion head turn, I made a sound that was akin to a confused dog. I also admit that I chuckled when I saw Kate Mara doing the exact same thing she was doing in the Fantastic Four trailer: sitting at a computer and looking all amazed. I wonder if Kristen Wiig’s Lifetime movie helped prepare her for this dramatic role.
Matt Damon could charm the freckles off my ass (I’m willing to put this statement to the test, Matt) and he’s definitely going to be the linchpin of this flick, and so far it looks like he’s earning that top billing.
I’m rooting for this movie, thanks to a double dose of Ridley Scott faith (the guy needs one more great film before he shuffles off to that big cigar store in the sky) and grounded sci-fi hijinks. I like juxtaposing a small story with an expansive setting, allowing moving human tales to be told against a fantastic backdrop, and hopefully The Martian will deliver on both of these fronts.
We’ll find out if it does when The Martian lands on November 25.
Thanks to board member Evi for submitting this piece of news!
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