Manuel here to talk space trailers. It’s been a week since the trailer for Ridley Scott’s latest project about Matt Damon getting stranded in Mars dropped, and we have been mum about it here at TFE. Is it because we have no Fassy to look forward to this time around? Or because we prefer our Scott vehicles better when they involve a certain Ms Weaver? The Martian centers on Watney (Damon), an astronau that finds himself stranded in the red planet when a NASA mission is forced to quickly retreat. Alone, unable to contact Earth and armed only with a month's worth of food, he sets out to survive in a planet where, as he says in the trailer, nothing grows. Will his science-know how keep him alive long enough for him to call for help and wait for his team to rescue him from Mars? We'll have to wait until November to find out!
In the meantime, let's break down the trailer in true TFE-fashion:
YES
• Chastain. At this point I’ll watch this (other) redhead in anything; will she be given a more rounded character than in that other space travel film she and Damon were just in?
• Scott sure knows how to stage an action sequence and that opening storm sequence, or what little we see here, may just be what I’m most eager to see on the big screen.
• I've heard nothing but good things about the novel (anyone read it?) and gotta say, if we must have another ambitious outer space film, it might as well come from a master of the genre.
• It's a shame Drew Goddard gets no shout out in the trailer. His work on Buffy, Angel, Daredevil and Cabin in the Woods gives me hope that the script will be packed with the type of wit this kind of story needs.
• Wolski seems to be in fine form; I love the oranges of Mars pit against the blue hues of NASA & Earth. There’s also an entire Hit Me With Your Best Shot episode to be made on this trailer alone!
NO
• “Every human being has an instinct to help each other out…” So maudlin. So empty. Can the film lift this type of dialogue from its schmaltz? On a related note: what is it about recent outer space films (yes, think Gravity, think Interstellar) that seem so heavy handed when it comes to issues of capital H humanity? I know it's part of the genre (in the emptiness of of space, human life seems both infinitesimally small and inordinately special) but are there no other angles to plunder in such a genre?
MAYBE SO
• “I’m going to science the shit out of this”/”In your face Neil Armstrong!” - Am I humorless for not really buying Damon’s jokey delivery?
• The rest of the cast: Ejiofor. Mara. Glover. Wiig (!). You have to give it to Scott, he knows how to cast a film but why do we see so little of each, though? How much time do we spend with them, or is this more of a Gravity/Castaway situation? More importantly, perhaps: will the different tones these different actors bring to the table mesh well?
• Will Damon’s logs/voice-overs be able to overcome their intentionally expository purpose? How will the film make the sciencey aspects engaging? (the comparisons to Nolan's film won't end, right?)
Check out the full trailer below:
Verdict: I’m a Maybe So but I hear that’s mostly because I haven’t read the book which everyone raves about; plus, it’s been a while since I’ve been 100% on board for a Scott pic. But what about you? Share your YES/NO/MAYBE SOs with us in the comments.