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The Martian (2015)
A botched up mission with no redemption
The botches commence right at the start - like launching a space vehicle in the middle of a pretty fearsome storm... hello! 1. Launches are aborted if a storm is on the distant horizon. 2. Science informs us that Mars cannot have the deadly storm depicted.
Gravity - of more appropriately - the lack of it. Mars does have a different gravity than Earth. Doesn't show in the film.
Towards the climax a guy at mission control informs that it takes 46mins to communicate between Mars Rescue Mission and Earth. But as the climax unfolds - comms is instant. 5G/6G anyone!?!
Matt Damon is, as always, awesome - and that is the only good news. The rest of the characters are merely caricatures or worse - stereotypes. It is hard to empathize with anything as the storytelling is jerky. Every ethnicity is represented making it more like a global Socialist propaganda film.
Taking liberties with history is understandable, when making historical films. Why take liberties with Science?
don't waste your time with this - unless you are absolutely in love with Matt Damon. Go watch a rerun of "Apollo 13" or "Killing Jesus" or maybe "Austin Powers".
Anyways, the producers are laughing all the way to the bank and maybe Time, the greatest human innovation, may heal us of our relieved cash.
Syriana (2005)
A landmark film
The Lasting Impression: Every now and then a film arrives that demands that it not merely be watched, but studied.Stephen Gaghan's effort is astonishing in it's breadth and depth.
The Source: Based on ex-CIA operative Bob Baer's heartfelt autobiography "See No Evil", Gaghan embarked on an extensive research, accompanied by Mr. Baer himself, to meet the real people in the geo-political game of energy security (read Arab Oil). Those who have read the book will realize that a small part of the book forms just one strand in the film.
The Outline: The major strand is the purported merger of two US oil giants, after one is kicked out of the Gulf, in favour of a Chinese consortium, by the ageing Emir's ambitious son, and the other, smaller company that has acquired lucrative oil fields elsewhere. This politico-legal-corporate strand of the story is led by a lawyer of a reputed firm that is providing legal advice to the merger. The next strand is a young immigrant Pakistani worker in the Gulf oil fields, who is out of a job because the Americans got kicked out. It portrays his gradual radicalization, for lack of a job, by a wily local Imam. The third strand is of a successful Industry Analyst(Matt Damon), based in Europe, who ends up tragically working for the Emir's son and is unwittingly involved in his power struggle. The final strand is the CIA operative(George Clooney), a dedicated field agent who gets trapped in all of this, by his own side.
The Technicality: Each strand is fleshed out convincingly, and through some really smart editing, the film connects keeps pace with all the strands. Alexandre Desplat's score is haunting and evocative in it's simplicity, and very appropriately employed.
The Takeaway: Essentially, it is a timeless parable about how smart/powerful people will use situations, systems and underlings in a matter-of-fact way to achieve their aims - whether personal gain or the greater good or both - there is no moral squeamishness about it. At the same time it is a poignant fable about the universality of "a decent chance at life" and lengths that ordinary people will go for it, before losing their way, maybe.
The Impact: This film will not shock you like a Spielberg, or make you squirm like Oliver Stone - but will embed itself deeply within your psyche as a disconcerting shard of truth. For all the privileges we enjoy - someone, somewhere pays the price - and it's more than it should be. But then, there is no other way!