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.
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.
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.
A ten-episode remake was rejected.
In the discussion (1)
- The panel emphatically did not want the movie serialized.
Matt Damon was the unanimous choice.
In the discussion (1)
- The panel immediately converged on Damon as the movie’s winner.
Most Rewatchable Scene
