No consensus: the rescue, Rich Purnell explanation, early farming/problem-solving, and the Starman montage were the leading choices.
In the discussion (11)
- The opening storm was praised for beginning the plot immediately.
- Watney blowing himself up and deadpanning about the excess oxygen was nominated.
- Watney establishing text contact with NASA was nominated.
- The potato farm exploding was nominated as a heartbreaking reversal.
- The David Bowie “Starman” montage was nominated for making an obvious song choice work.
- The final rescue was nominated for sustaining suspense even though Watney’s survival was expected.
- The reunion was criticized for ending too abruptly and omitting a needed moment between Watney and Lewis.
- Watney’s final solve-one-problem-at-a-time speech was praised as the movie’s lesson.
- The Rich Purnell stapler demonstration was selected by one host.
- The early water-making, farming, and rationing sequence was selected by another host as the movie’s soul.
- The rescue was selected by another host.
The title, potatoes, disco motif, move away from 3D, self-surgery, mission-control celebration, Sean Bean, and resignation trope were praised.
In the discussion (8)
- The simple title “The Martian” was praised.
- Watney’s potato garden using Martian soil, crew waste, rocket-fuel water, and unused potatoes was praised.
- Commander Lewis’s love of 1970s disco was praised as a comic wrinkle that could easily have failed.
- The film was treated as evidence that audiences preferred conventional 2D releases over the 3D push.
- Watney’s self-surgery was called the film’s tensest and most effective sequence.
- The mission-control celebration after contact with Watney was praised as an effective recurring movie device.
- Sean Bean’s character was praised for risking his career to back the Hermes crew.
- The movie convention where a principled official resigns after insubordination was praised.
U.S.–China cooperation, Golden Globes category fraud, some casting choices, government transparency, public attention, unchanged cable news, and Teddy’s press manner were questioned.
In the discussion (8)
- U.S.–China cooperation felt newly implausible to the panel in 2020.
- The film’s Golden Globe win as a Musical or Comedy was cited as category fraud that helped force rule changes.
- Sebastian Stan’s tiny role was criticized as a waste of an actor who became more prominent later.
- Kristen Wiig’s comic screen persona made her difficult for some hosts to accept as the NASA press official.
- NASA and the government appeared implausibly candid about bad news and internal decisions.
- The world’s sustained public attention to one astronaut seemed optimistic.
- Cable news appearing unchanged in 2035 felt implausible.
- Teddy’s blunt press conferences felt oddly cold.
Cate Blanchett was the original Commander Lewis choice before a scheduling conflict led to Jessica Chastain; Drew Goddard’s directing path was recalled.
In the discussion (2)
- Blanchett was the original choice for Commander Lewis.
- The hosts liked Chastain in the finished role.
Benedict Wong was selected, though the MCU was offered as the more recognizable source.
In the discussion (2)
- One host knew Wong primarily as the actor from The Martian.
- Others identified Doctor Strange as his more familiar association.
Donald Glover was the decisive choice.
In the discussion (1)
- Glover’s coffee-deprived calculations and abrupt physicality were cited.
Donald Glover also won the heat-check award for his concentrated Rich Purnell scenes.
In the discussion (1)
- The panel explicitly noted the rare double win with overacting.
Carrie Washington or Kate Winslet for Kristen Wiig, and Ed Harris as Teddy, were the strongest proposals; other possibilities were debated.
In the discussion (7)
- Kerry Washington was proposed for the public-relations role.
- Kate Winslet’s Steve Jobs performance made her another proposal for the PR role.
- Kate Winslet was also proposed as Commander Lewis.
- Tom Hanks was proposed for Teddy.
- Jeff Bridges was proposed for Teddy.
- Tommy Lee Jones was proposed for Teddy.
- Ed Harris was proposed as the best Teddy replacement because he supplied the desired Pat Riley quality.
Research covered Jordan/Hungary locations, NASA assistance, Damon’s five-week solo shoot, staged potato growth, and the 2035 setting.
In the discussion (6)
- The Mars exteriors were filmed in Jordan.
- Soundstage work was filmed in Hungary.
- NASA assisted with science and technology.
- Damon filmed his solo material for five weeks.
- The production maintained real potatoes at multiple growth stages.
- Andy Weir placed the story in 2035.
The movie was treated as a late-career “still got it” peak for Damon rather than his apex; potatoes and botany were clear apex cases, while Mars went to Total Recall.
In the discussion (4)
- The Bourne period was preferred as Damon’s true apex.
- Potatoes were declared an apex case for the film.
- Botany was declared an apex case for the film.
- Total Recall beat The Martian as Mars’s apex.
Toxic Martian soil, impossible storm force, Watney’s weight loss, the hard-to-follow gravity-assist plan, and surprisingly effective tarp/duct tape were questioned.
In the discussion (5)
- Later findings that Martian soil is toxic undermine the potato premise.
- Andy Weir acknowledged that Mars’s thin atmosphere makes the opening storm physically impossible.
- A body double supplied Watney’s extreme emaciation.
- The gravity-assist plan remained hard to follow and seemed oddly undiscovered by everyone else.
- Tarp and duct tape seemed implausibly sufficient for Mars and space.
“Mark Watney, space pirate” led a group of favorite sarcastic and mission-planning lines.
In the discussion (6)
- Watney’s legal reasoning for calling himself a space pirate was the opening favorite.
- “In your face, Neil Armstrong” was nominated.
- “Here’s the rub” was nominated.
- The Chiwetel Ejiofor exchange about getting Watney home alive was nominated.
- Sean Bean’s “he hasn’t told you the bad part yet” was nominated.
- The Project Elrond joke was nominated.
A ten-episode remake was rejected.
In the discussion (1)
- The panel emphatically did not want the movie serialized.
Questions covered Watney’s missing family, post-return romantic life, sexuality, character backstory, death-free sci-fi, 2035 CNN, astronaut marriages, and his exact time on Mars.
In the discussion (8)
- Where was Watney’s family?
- What romantic relationship, if any, awaited Watney after his return?
- Was Watney’s sexuality deliberately left unspecified?
- Was the absence of character backstory a flaw or a strength?
- Is this the only consequential science-fiction movie in which nobody dies?
- Would CNN still look the same in 2035?
- How often do astronaut marriages survive the demands of the work?
- Watney spent 568 sols, about 578 Earth days, on Mars.
Matt Damon was the unanimous choice.
In the discussion (1)
- The panel immediately converged on Damon as the movie’s winner.
Most Rewatchable Scene
