The Martian
- Thread starter Berbaclass
- Start date
Actually started reading this book this morning...
Heisenberg doesn't seem convinced.
I'm not giving Ridley Scott the benefit of the doubt. My expectations are low.
I stumbled on this book when it was first released on kindle priced at 99p
Absolutely loved it and would highly recommend reading it.
I think originally the author was releasing chapters one at a time on his blog/website. Must be amazing to have a successful book and then get a movie deal. I need to get off my arse and write one myself.
Absolutely loved it and would highly recommend reading it.
I think originally the author was releasing chapters one at a time on his blog/website. Must be amazing to have a successful book and then get a movie deal. I need to get off my arse and write one myself.
The book is great, really great in fact...even though it's just a diary...not sure how it'll transfer to the big screen, but the trailer looks good...
Ps: you massive bender
:jol:
I started reading the book this weekend, I'm really enjoying it. If I had more time, I could've finished it in one sitting, it's really gripping.
Cant feckin wait for this one.
Last edited:
Read the book on holiday and loved it so really looking forward to this
Looks amazing.
I loved the novel and this trailer looks amazing. As excited as I can be for a movie.
Mars parts look interesting. Earth/space, not so much.
Never read the book but the trailer seems to show way too much I think
IDK, I think it showed just the right amount of stuff
Like I say, I've never read the book and all that stuff could happen in the first 20 mins of the film. But it had a structure that felt like the start to the end.
Guys go into space, most die except one, he has to keep himself alive while trying to get into contact, does get into contact, people on Earth ponder if they should send other people to save him, top bods say no but you still see people defying the and get into a spaceship to save him.
Most escape except one, who is thought to be dead....is my take on what happened. And same crew returns?
Last edited:
I've read the book and don't think the trailer gives loads way although I do think the film (and the book) would be much better going into it without really seeing anything, although in fairness to the people promoting the movie it would be hard to sell a film without knowing anything about it.
Without ruining either the book or the film I think it will be interesting to see what they do with some of the characters. They seem to of got the character of Mark Watney close to the book but I do feel they'll change the other characters, especially the ones on earth.
It creates a nice break up point in the books in my opinion the stuff on Earth and Space, the Mars stuff got a bit tedious at times for me and the other bits did create some interesting characters.
I'd recommend reading the book to people by the way even if not big readers which I'm not myself, it's not to long and the story is one you want to continue reading.
Without ruining either the book or the film I think it will be interesting to see what they do with some of the characters. They seem to of got the character of Mark Watney close to the book but I do feel they'll change the other characters, especially the ones on earth.
It creates a nice break up point in the books in my opinion the stuff on Earth and Space, the Mars stuff got a bit tedious at times for me and the other bits did create some interesting characters.
I'd recommend reading the book to people by the way even if not big readers which I'm not myself, it's not to long and the story is one you want to continue reading.
Trailer hasn't given much away really. Matt Damon seems to be playing a pretty good Watney, the strength of the movie will be carried by how well he pulls it off and the early signs are positive for me.
I really agree. Bizarrely I had him pictured as a Matt Damon type when I read it last year, which was before I kew he was cast as MW.
Yeah he does look the part and he seems to get the comedic nature of some of them lines right, although I'm not sure if it's just me but in the book I find some of it a bit cringing at times.
The rest of the cast do have the looks I imagined as well just whether they get the personalities right. I think especially with the case on earth....I think they could really mess that bit up to be honest to create more of a film feel.
Have you seen the other clips for it? There's one on page 1 of the thread where they are filming the cast in character as the crew, gives a nice bit of character development and does look promising with regards to keeping the cast as per the books from the little clips we get/
It's a weird book really. Feels like you're reading a movie script for a summer blockbuster. I loved the concept and all the science stuff, but the writing is flat and the characters are as one-dimensional as it gets. Did anyone else keep picturing 'Independence Day' every time there was a 'back on Earth' scene? Was half expecting Jeff Goldblum to rock up with his macbook. The dialog felt cheesy as feck for those parts.
The narrator seemed to totally neglect his surroundings too. He'd go into insane amounts of details to describe all his science stuff, then barely mention what Mars was like. There'd be 5 chapters about potatoes and then "oh just drove 400 kms across a few hills and shit". Oh yeah? What's Mars like then, ya fecker?
The narrator seemed to totally neglect his surroundings too. He'd go into insane amounts of details to describe all his science stuff, then barely mention what Mars was like. There'd be 5 chapters about potatoes and then "oh just drove 400 kms across a few hills and shit". Oh yeah? What's Mars like then, ya fecker?
Just watching the video now. Chastain and Mara are so cute
Pleased with Seb Stan and Pena too. Like both of those guys.
Watney and the Aquaman question
Last edited:
Probably because we are in Watney's head almost the entire time he is there on Mars. And his sole purpose is to somehow figure out a way to survive. So we get details of how fecked up a situation he is in; how he got there; and what he plans to do to survive that. Also, since the Book, at least while on Mars, follows a Log structure where Watney is leaving behind a sort of diary of all the things he did and attempted to do and his successes and failure in doing them for someone who will find it in future, Watney describing what Mars looks like doesn't make sense.
This movie along with Star Wars are the two movies I'm most looking forward to this year.
Hope Ridley Scott delivers. Matt Damon is usually very good in anything he's in. Second space movie of him and Jessica Chastain together including Interstellar in two years now.
What makes people want to keep Matt Damon stranded on lonely planets in space?
Hope Ridley Scott delivers. Matt Damon is usually very good in anything he's in. Second space movie of him and Jessica Chastain together including Interstellar in two years now.
What makes people want to keep Matt Damon stranded on lonely planets in space?
Mainly hills and shit. Dusty too.
Describing the place he was sent to explore does kind of make sense, especially as nobody has ever been stuck there alone before. At least as much sense as spending time on cringey jokes and crappy sitcom references, anyway.
But then... it's OK to not totally make sense. I'm not referring to the logic behind his actions. I'm saying it would be a better book, for me, if the author had put more detail into that. Describing his environment to help frame his feelings of isolation would've added some badly needed depth. For that matter, it lacks any exploration into his psychological well-being whatsoever. The single note tone continues as if there's no kind of deterioration. No decline in motivation. And no progression in the character development. Rather than a world renowned Scientist stuck on Mars, it reads like a teenage girls diary, "Oh crap, some explody stuff happened. I'm fecked!!!!! Wait, it's cool, I did some Science shit (insert 5 pages of me sounding clever) and saved the day. Yayyyy me!!!!".
I reckon you could cut 200 pages from the middle of the book and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. Matt Damon was a good choice though, he's great at playing highly annoying characters you are hoping will die.
Well I know that now, I've read this highly informative book on the subject
Seriously, though. Mars is dull as feck. We've all seen the pictures. Rock, dust and more rock. Not much for him to describe.
Sure, I get that. Maybe I'm being too harsh. A desert is boring too, but you can still write about what it feels like to be there because it's a unique and eerie feeling, just as you'd expect being stuck on Mars would be. The expanse, the isolation, the strangeness of the place and his situation. It was lacking in.. something, as if some kid was writing about Mars from his parents basement. It didn't make me feel like it was real, which is what good writers do. I felt like I was reading the script of some patriotic movie starring Dwayne Johnson.
I know what you're getting at about there being something missing. For me it wasn't the landscape, so much as it must have been absolutely terrifying and at times unbearable experience. Which was something he didn't really delve into. The way that kind of isolation and fear over such a long period of time would have pushed him to the brink of madness. I let it slide, though, on the basis he probably wasn't allowing himself dwell on the horror of his situation so was being upbeat for his own sanity.
That should be spoilered, IMO.
But that's in trailer.
But still, can easily spoiler it. Guess you should too as well.
But still, can easily spoiler it. Guess you should too as well.
I think you're being a tad harsh and not totally fair on the book, which I finished quite recently. There's quite a few instances where he the isolation does get to him and where his emotions are highlighted. I really don't think it's correct to label it a 'single note tone' book, especially not for the stuff that happens on Mars. As for the descriptions of Mars, there's a few of them (when he dusts the solar panels, when he takes trips in the Rover) but as others have said, there's actually not much to be said, nor would it exactly feel right given the way the author decided to write the book.
I haven't read the book but if this were to actually happen I'd hazard a guess that NASA would try to cover this up rather than spend multiple billions of dollars to go save one man.
Looks like the movie could be really good though. I have the book so I should probably get on to reading that before I see this.
Looks like the movie could be really good though. I have the book so I should probably get on to reading that before I see this.
@Tarrou As Pogue has mentioned, there isn't much to describe the environment. He does describe the craters when he comes across them and how he has to ride on a route to avoid the craters. Also, as we see from his log entries, he keeps himself fairly busy with all kinds of activities and shit and doesn't dwell too much on the fact that he is alone on the entire freakin planet.
Also, I presume, NASA must be training its astronauts on how to deal with solitude.
Also, I presume, NASA must be training its astronauts on how to deal with solitude.
Cover up?
Hide that he's alive still.
Their motives aren't entirely noble in the book, as it happens. Losing a man on Mars was a major PR blow and disaster for their space programme.
Once they found him, they announced he was alive to great fanfare and then had to face up to the enormous financial costs of getting him back versus the fallout of allowing him to die on Mars. It actually deals with all that stuff very well and in a lot of detail.