If the wait for Ridley Scott’s adaptation of The Martian is too much for you to bear, then today is your lucky day. We have new video of the ARES-3 crew, and if the clip below is any indication of what to expect, the humor of Andy Weir’s book is very much intact.
Through the ARES: Live archive, we’ve been given access to snippets of the crew’s psychological evaluations after a 10-day isolation period. While we saw the crew before in their farewell video before departing on their launch, this new video gave us an even better look into the crew’s already vibrant personalities. With a manned mission to Mars in the balance, and the eyes of the world on them, this is the best time for the crew to really ponder all of the big questions plaguing the mission.
For instance, Matt Damon’s Mark Watney wonders just how Aquaman can control whales despite the fact that they are mammals. A little further up on the scale, we have Michael Pena’s Rick Martinez and Sebastian Stan’s Dr. Chris Beck, who are the chief smart-asses of the ARES-3 mission. Both are apparently men of healing, as they’ve credentialed themselves as practitioners of tension relief and the soul, respectively. Though, Dr. Beck is the only actual medical expert of the two, as Major Martinez is the mission’s pilot.
And all the way on the other end of the spectrum are the mission’s two badasses: Jessica Chastain’s Commander Melissa Lewis and Askel Hennie’s Alex Vogel. Both are fearless, and adapted to all of the extreme conditions that their mission will throw at them. Commander Lewis’s submarine story is an especially inspired piece of background that shows us just why she’s been picked to be the first female mission commander to head to Mars. Which leaves one crew member to occupy the dead center of the spectrum. She knows it all and isn’t afraid to tell, and she’s Kate Mara’s computer guru Beth Johanssen – our guide to the personalities and quirks of the ARES-3 crew.
While The Martian promises to be a harrowing journey of survival and ingenuity, much like the source novel that it’s adapting, it also needs to have a fair amount of humor and wisecracks. Watney’s narration through the book can get a bit snarky at times, and since the man practically promises to "science the shit" out of Mars, you know he’s good for some colorful commentary.
This psych evaluation video that Fox has released is another effective tool in building the emotional attachment to the characters in The Martian, because we get to see the crew at their normal operating capacities. Considering the Ridley Scott film will push everyone to the brink, testing their limits and their sanity, it’ll be even more rewarding thanks to the foundation these ARES: Live videos are building. Here’s hoping we get a tour of Mission Control soon, as their side of the story is just as important as the trials of Watney’s battle to survive the Martian wastes.
The Martian launches into theaters on October 2nd, and will be present at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, as well.
