Marte (The Martian)

Filmová výzva v karanténě - oblíbené herečky, Jessica Chastain. Por mí, estas películas americanas nunca, realmente nunca serán. Considero esta película un derroche de belleza y talento de Jessica Chastain y Kate Mara. Lamentablemente, elegí de manera totalmente inapropiada para mi desafío, Jessica, al igual que Kate y el resto del elenco, aparecen prácticamente en el último tercio y todo gira en torno a Matt y Houston. Me entristece mucho, porque si hubiera incluido a Jessica, por ejemplo Miss Sloane, sería difícil de derrocar de su trono. Estoy curioso por saber si algún día a algún director de cine americano iluminado se le ocurrirá que no es necesario aplaudir en algunas escenas típicamente americanas, sino que podrían darles una palmadita en el trasero a las mujeres hermosas, solo para variar. ¿Las escenas de aplausos todavía nos divierten a nosotros, los europeos?! (11.07.2020)

Marte (The Martian) sorprendió por el hecho de no ser sobre el ambiente y el filosofar, sino sobre personas y la alegría de contar una historia positiva. Una fuente de ideas inspiradoras para los editores de cine principiantes. Genial Damon y después de mucho tiempo un lindo papel para Jeff Daniels. Lástima del final más débil, que en la profunda sombra de Gravity no tiene posibilidades de impresionar. Compare Marte (The Martian) con Premeteo... Ridley sigue siendo el capitán, solo necesita un buen guión. (06.10.2015)

In the space of three years comes a third major sci-fi hit that may not be all that much science fiction. By contrast, it's the blockbuster approach that works best, the hallmark of Scott's unmistakable craft confidence that last affected me this way 14 years ago. Sure, Goddard loses the plot a fair bit at the end, but the celebration of human knowledge and indomitable will is literally palpable through the screen for the vast majority of the runtime. I don't think anyone else will conjure up such feel-good emotions this year. 4 ½. PS: It's nice to see a Ridley Scott film in the movie theater that doesn't make you cry after watching it that you have to wait for the DC Blu-ray to fully appreciate it. PPS: I felt full satisfaction after the second screening. It actually works even at the end. A better "feel-good" film than Love Actually. (18.10.2015)

The anti-Interstellar. Nolan’s sci-fi opus was a space colonisation western about the search for an alternative to our devastated blue planet. By contrast the “coloniser” in the delightful The Martian has to be rescued from a wilderness that somewhat resembles Monument Valley and returned to Earth. The celebration of the human ability to make maximum use of available resources is only one level of the narrative, which in the film is better interwoven with the parallel organisation of the rescue mission than it was in the book. The cutting between events on Earth and on Mars starts earlier than in the novel and the two storylines are better synchronised. As a result, the film has more momentum and, unlike Mark, it never loses its breath. Despite the individualistic title, Matt Damon’s lonely face on the poster, and its reputation as the ultimate professional drama for geeks, The Martian is, in my opinion, a particularly successful example of a story with a collective hero. Even in the interconnected world of high-speed internet, enabling media coverage of events in other countries, on other continents and even on another planet, it works best on the principle of mutual cooperation and coordination. Each of the many characters enjoys their own moment of glory. Thanks to their gradual introduction to the scene and the clear establishment of professional and personal relationships between them (there are no characters in the film who fight solely for themselves), we have no problem remembering them. Not only people of different races, ages and genders, but also of different nationalities join forces. The Martian creates the illusion that the individual comes first in a massive organisation like NASA, as well as in a totalitarian country like China. The creation of sound bridges between scenes and the precise editing, when a question directly or indirectly asked on Earth is answered in the following shot from Mars, reinforce the cohesiveness of the narrative and the impression of a global village, where even a distance of tens of millions of kilometres is not insurmountable. The Martian is outstanding feel-good entertainment that may not restore your faith in humanity, but it’s highly probable that your faith in Ridley Scott’s skill as a director will have been restored by the time the end credits roll. 80% (05.10.2015)

An adventure film, rather than sci-fi; a crowd pleaser, rather than survival; feel-good, rather than smart. But even with all these dichotomies, I would’ve rated with it with five stars as Ridley Scott garners all the strengths of his old age to put together a technically flawless film that treads from beginning to end, it’s not even for a moment boring and the most tense scenes are reliably gripping. But for me it’s just too safe and user-friendly. 85 % (18.10.2015)