Matt Damon’s New-to-Max 2015 Sci-Fi Film Is the Perfect Movie To Watch After ‘Interstellar’

A stranded Matt Damon in space was a concept begging to be brought to life. Whether as a lead, supporting player, or in unexpected cameo form, everyone is happy to see Damon on screen. In the 2010s, following critical and financial success as an action and dramatic star, he began pivoting into science fiction. Starting with Elysium in 2013, Damon’s credentials as a sci-fi star were elevated with a brilliant surprise appearance in Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar. The actor capped off this run in 2015 with The Martian, Ridley Scott‘s adaptation of the novel by Andy Weir. Now streaming on Max, The Martian shows Scott firing on all cylinders as director and Damon at the peak of his movie star charm and energy.

Matt Damon Is Stuck on Mars in Ridley Scott’s ‘The Martian’

Damon, a versatile leading man synonymous with dramas like Good Will Hunting and crime thrillers like Ocean’s Eleven and The Departed, was not a major presence in science fiction until the last decade. In one of the great cinematic “what ifs?,” Damon turned down a role in James Cameron’s sci-fi epic and all-time highest-grossing movie, Avatar, where he would’ve received a percentage of its profit. Following this fateful decision, Damon ironically leaned into the genre, with his run peaking as Mark Watney, the abandoned astronaut left behind to survive on Mars with meager supplies in The Martian. Scott’s film follows an ingenious astronaut who must signal to the command center at NASA that he is still alive and awaits a rescue. As a botanist, Watney concocts a creative but unsavory recipe for growing potatoes. By fertilizing soil on Mars with human waste, he manages to feed himself for the time being. Written by Drew Goddard, and a stellar supporting cast featuring Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, The Martian feels like a product of a bygone era, where a movie-star-driven crowd-pleaser with artistic sensibilities could finish as the 10th highest grossing film of its respective year.

Matt Damon has been a part of many deep ensemble casts loaded with legendary stars, including the Ocean’s trilogy, The Departed, and Oppenheimer, but sequestering the actor on a spacecraft on Mars was an ingenious utilization of his talent. Being all alone, Watney conducts a video diary to leave behind in his wake if he dies, and it also serves to connect with the audience. Despite seeming like a glossy sci-fi spectacle, The Martian is intensely committed to procedure and follows science through an empirical lens rather than theoretically, making it the most appreciative movie of STEM in recent memory. However, with its 2-hour and 24-minute runtime, keeping up with the jargon can be burdensome for the average viewer. Scott implores viewers to immerse themselves in the meticulous processes of Watney’s survival and NASA’s escape plan. With Watney’s candid and vulnerable video diaries, the harrowing trauma of being stranded and the impending shadow of death in space is immediately identifiable.

Matt Damon Keeps His Charm and Humanity While Stranded in Space

At the 88th Academy Awards, The Martian received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Actor for Damon, Best Adapted Screenplay for Goddard, and Best Picture. Its most notable and controversial accolade during this awards season was its win for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes. This honor left people bewildered. How could a story about desperate human survival and loneliness in the abyss be classified as a comedy? While questionable, the film’s placement in this frequently tenuous category is a testament to Damon’s well-rounded performance that delivers sincere melodrama and radiant charm.

The Martian deploys his innate sense of humor and overall likability better than any film, perhaps besides his wild and unexpected cameos. Watney’s heroic journey, which sees him stumbling and working tirelessly to survive, is characterized by Damon’s carefully lived-in performance, emphasizing minor behavioral tics and tendencies. His importance to the story goes far beyond the basic needs of a central character. Damon, with his spurts of humor and understated personality, is the lone beating heart in a film heavily concerned with numbers and data.

Matt Damon was such a strong fit in Interstellar, another sci-fi epic fixated on the intricate details of intergalactic travel, that he needed a far more substantial role in the genre. Nolan’s film and The Martian represent the dual side of the same coin for Damon. Whether he’s in a glorified cameo or carrying the narrative on his shoulders, he is an unforgettable force, magnetic to the camera with his vulnerability and infectious charisma. Lesson learned: when Matt Damon is stuck in space, you’ve got a compelling film on your hands.

The Martian is available to watch on Max in the U.S.

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