tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585638012794043667.post1932514025199608825..comments2023-11-05T03:08:21.750-05:00Comments on Karen V. Wasylowski: A bad review for The Martian - and, I believe this is the one and only bad review too (SPOILERS)Karen V. Wasylowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148410916082693726noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585638012794043667.post-83039998039670214112016-01-29T03:43:12.128-05:002016-01-29T03:43:12.128-05:00I just watched The Martian on DVD and also was not...I just watched The Martian on DVD and also was not very impressed. Apart from the exotic visuals and Matt Damon's occasional encounters with engaging moments, the plot had too many black holes. Like, it's unlikely that the USA will be the only nation involved in the first Mars missions, so the whole premise is overly simplistic. And whenever Mars missions begin, an early step will probably to establish a well-stocked base on one of its two moons, in part for emergency situation. Also, there was no reason for the Hermes to leave Mars immediately after the emergency. In fact, it might have been safer, if not necessary, to stay in Mars orbit until the original planed (and presumably optimally-efficient) departure time, and while they waited they could have surveyed the surface to determine 100% whether or not their missing crewmate was dead. At minimum, they would have had to wait at least a couple of days while NASA calculated the new return trajectory. If you're pretending to make a realistic space movie, you can't have your spaceships blasting out of orbit on a moment's notice. There are lot of gravitational forces to balance. In short, a narrative that depends on supposedly smart characters doing something dumb and/or unwarranted is not a strong narrative. I guess the gee-whiz factor is what props up The Martian, just like what happened with the similarly nonsensical Gravity. Oh well, it could have been worse. Matt could have stumbled onto an ancient Martian city, accidentally waking a dormant monster...Don Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12498514958841749381noreply@blogger.com