A manned Mars mission goes awry when astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is injured in a sand storm; commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), believing Watney dead, evacuates the planet. Watney survives through a freak accident, struggling to survive on Mars and communicate with Earth. On Earth, NASA mission director Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) convinces skeptical superiors to launch a rescue mission. But Lewis and her team learn of Watney's survival and turn back.
Based on Andy Weir's novel, The Martian has all the technical competence expected from Ridley Scott. He films in Jordan's Wadi Rum, whose eerily beautiful landscape (enhanced with subtle visual effects) makes a great stand-in for Mars. There are effective set pieces, like the opening storm and Watney's rescue, that wonderfully mix practical and computer effects. Still, The Martian's frustratingly uneven on a dramatic level.
The Martian works best focusing on Watney's plight. Stranded on an otherworldly prison, Watney relies on smarts and humor to survive. He plants a potato garden, reassembles solar panels, and complains endlessly about Lewis's disco music. Watney uses a lost Pathfinder probe to communicate with Earth, crafting a self-made alphabet. Matt Damon's focused, intense but humorous performance is engaging enough to engage our sympathy.
Had Scott followed through with this Robinson Crusoe setting, The Martian would have been much better. Instead, we receive constant cutaways to mission control and Watney's crewmates. These scenes inundate us with a bland gallery of supporting players who trade exposition and snark while staring at computer readouts. Not only does this dilute Watney's isolation, it dissipates any tension or urgency.
In recent years we've seen numerous space sagas, from Gravity's unworldly fun to the pomposity of Interstellar. The Martian falls somewhere between the two. Entertaining and well-made, it ultimately settles for competence.