The Martian trailer: Ridley Scott returns to science fiction with the movie
The arrival of the new trailer for the upcoming movie 鈥淭he Martian鈥 has gotten viewers excited, and not just fans who have read Andy Weir鈥檚 book 聽鈥 many are excited to see director Ridley Scott tackling a science fiction movie again.聽
鈥淭he Martian鈥 centers on astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who is left on Mars by his crew who believe him to be dead. He must figure out a way to contact NASA and survive until rescue can arrive. (If you check out the trailer, be aware of language.)
The film co-stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, and many others.聽
We鈥檙e experiencing a trend of films set in space right now 鈥 2013鈥檚 鈥淕ravity鈥 was nominated for Best Picture and 鈥淚nterstellar,鈥 which was directed by Christopher Nolan of the 鈥淒ark Knight鈥 trilogy, did well at the box office, as did 2012鈥檚 鈥淧rometheus鈥 directed by Scott himself. The new 鈥淪tar Trek鈥 movies were also financial hits. Before this wave, the movies most think of when it comes to space 鈥 鈥淎lien,鈥 鈥2001: A Space Odyssey,鈥 the original 鈥淪tar Wars鈥 films, 鈥淎pollo 13,鈥 鈥淭he Right Stuff鈥 鈥 had come out decades before.聽
But many are waiting to see if 鈥淢artian鈥 will be a return to form for Scott. He has been behind some of the sci-fi all-time classics, 鈥淏lade Runner鈥 and 鈥淎lien.鈥 The 2000 film 鈥淕ladiator,鈥 which took place in ancient Rome, was also a success for him, with the movie taking the Best Picture Oscar and Scott himself being nominated for Best Director. 2001鈥檚 鈥淏lack Hawk Down鈥 was also well-received. However, other recent movies have fizzled. His 2014 Biblical film 鈥淓xodus: Gods and Kings鈥 and the 2013 movie 鈥淭he Counselor鈥 both got poor reviews and 鈥淧rometheus,鈥 his newest entry in the 鈥淎lien鈥 series, received mixed reviews, with Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writing that the director 鈥渃omes up short鈥 The film鈥檚 meditations on The Meaning of It All don鈥檛 amount to much.鈥
Scott鈥檚 movies 鈥淩obin Hood,鈥 鈥淏ody of Lies,鈥 and 鈥淎 Good Year鈥 (yes, Scott directed a romantic comedy with Russell Crowe) were also not well-received, though his 2007 film 鈥淎merican Gangster鈥 got a slightly better reception.
Will 鈥淢artian鈥 have Scott receiving the critical acclaim garnered by his classics 鈥淏lade Runner鈥 and 鈥淎lien鈥? It's of course hard to tell with a trailer, but writer Henry Barnes wrote that the staff "think 'The Martian' could be stellar," while writer Kelly Dickerson wrote that "it looks like [the movie] is going to blow 'Interstellar' and 'Gravity' out of the water." Scott may have a hit in the making.