History Film / TheMartian

* AgeLift: While the book isn't explicit on Watney's age, it's implied he's younger than Matt Damon's mid-40s. Watney's parents being described as being middle-aged is the biggest implication of Watney's age.

* ShirtlessScene: When Mark returns to the HAB after the initial accident her strips off his shirt to check is wound. He's banged up and looks like death warmed over after being abandoned, but viewers get to see Creator/MattDamon's bare chest. It occurs again towards the end, but now to show how malnourished he is after trying to stretch his rations.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture:[[https://www.facebook.com/462962073803090/photos/a.463868883712409.1073741828.462962073803090/682817308484231/?type=1 According to]] author Andy Weir, the plot is set in the not so distant year 2035.

** The sunsets on Mars look a very bright, vibrant orange, like on Earth. Earthen sunsets are such because of the way the light interacts with our thick, blue atmosphere. With Mars being 50 million miles farther away and with an atmosphere 1% that of Earth's and dominated by dust scattering, it should look a more [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/MarsSunset_losslesscrop.jpg pale gray-blue color.]]

** The Hab was designed to service a mission intended to last 31 sols. It would be unsuited to shield out the constant cosmic radiation on Mars for the extended period of time Mark lived there. The author admits that without the Hab, there could be no story.

*** It's possible that the tires on the rovers were made of something more durable than rubber. For one current world example, they'd be a lot more durable (and lighter than rubber tires) if they were made of Kevlar.

* ColdEquation: Downplayed. Teddy Sanders vetoes the Rich Purnell maneuver because that puts the entire Hermes crew at risk. He decides to let the Hermes continue to Earth unhindered and proceed with using the Chinese booster to send supplies to Mark even though that option is fraught with risk of actually delivering the supplies safely and will arrive after Mark has run out of food. Although Teddy is actively focused on keeping everyone alive, he has knowingly chosen a path that would, in all likelihood, result in Mark's death despite their best efforts.

** Martial soil contains traces of toxic chemicals, meaning the potato plants that Mark grew would've been poisonous to eat. In order for Mark to be able to eat the potatoes, he'd first have had to grow a first patch of potatoes that would absorb the toxic compounds in the soil before he could grow potatoes that would've been safe to eat.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Film/RobinsonCrusoeOnMars''.

** Jessica Chastain as Commander Lewis. Lewis' attractiveness in the book isn't explicitly stated, but it's pointed out that Beth Johanssen is the "looker" of the Ares [=III=] crew, implying that Lewis is of at best average attractiveness. Some have pointed out that the actresses were more "emaciated" than real astronauts should be, that they would have done better to cast actresses who were built like the real thing. Still, Dr. Johanssen is specifically described in the book as young and beautiful, so Kate Mara is not miscast.

* AdaptedOut: Commander Lewis didn't just have a huge collection of [[TheSeventies 70's]] Disco music; she had an equally huge collection of 1970s ''television shows'', and Mark fills his logs with all the ''FridgeLogic'' he notices. This was removed because getting the additional licensing for television shows in addition to the music would have added millions to the cost of the movie. They must have paid a fortune for the few seconds of ''Series/HappyDays'' they showed.

* AndMissionControlRejoiced: Happens multiple times over the course of the movie. Once after the supply rocket successfully takes off [[spoiler: until it explodes.]] Once when the Chinese rocket successfully takes off. [[spoiler: And, once when the ''Hermes'' crew successfully retrieve Watney.]]

--> '''Teddy:''' Bruce has three months to get the payload done. That's all that matters right now.
--> '''Bruce:''' We'll do our best.
--> '''Teddy:''' Mark dies if you don't.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology:

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: The JPL team dusts off their old computers when Mission Control determines that Mark is going for [[spoiler: the Mars ''Pathfinder'' probe and the ''Sojourner'' rover (that landed on Mars in 1997)]] and use it for communication.
* BringMyBrownPants: Bruce Ng, after hearing that [[spoiler: Mark's crops are now dead and]] he and his team have an even tighter deadline to come up with a workable solution for the supply probe, turns off his Skype call and nervously says, "I'm gonna need a change of clothes," while adjusting his pants.

--> '''Mark:''' This is Mark Watney... and I'm still alive... ''obviously.''

-->'''Watney''': Everywhere I go, I'm the first. That's a strange feeling. Step outside the rover, first guy to be there, climb that hill, first guy to do that. Four and a half billion years, nobody here, and now me. I'm the first person to be alone on an entire planet.

* LodgedBladeRemoval: The hero has been impaled in the stomach by an antenna and it needs to be removed. Can be seen here: [[https://youtu.be/QJE_nzWIfDw?t=30 antenna removal]]

* PrecisionFStrike: Zig-zagged. In the original novel, most characters swear like sailors. In the movie adaptation, to preserve the tone of the novel but still keep a [=PG-13=] rating required judicious use of actual f-bombs as well clever editing to shield {{ClusterFBomb}}s and other swearing while still keeping the strong emotional core.
** Two f-bombs are delivered directly without editing from Watney. [[note]] Even though PG-13 only allows for one f-bomb, the MPAA did a special vote to allow the second use because it was judged that the context in which the word was used was appropriate for the story.[[/note]] First is right after his self-surgery to remove the antenna. He sits there as the full weight of his situation hits him and yells "Fuck!" Later, after he decides he's not going to die on Mars and starts moving in dirt for his potato farm, he rests from his efforts for a moment and calmly states, "Fuck you, Mars."
** When NASA informs Watney that the Ares crew has not yet been told he is still alive. He is furious and responds with a ClusterFBomb. The movie keeps its [=PG-13=] rating through clever editing like switching to an exterior shot of Watney through the window clearly mouthing "What the F...?" without sound or by having a technician reading Mark's written response but substituting the phrase "F-word" several times. (Strangely enough, the closed captions come right out with this pair of "[=WtF=]"s even though they're not audible.) After Vincent asks him to watch his language, he angrily adds a new response and while the content is never shared with the audience we see NASA employees' reaction to his message and the next scene has Teddy apologizing to the President.

--> '''Rich:''' I'm sorry, what's your name again?
--> '''Teddy:''' Teddy. [[{{Beat}} (beat)]] I'm the Director of NASA.

-->'''Bruce''': It'll take 6 months to build it in the first place.
-->'''Teddy''': Three months.
-->'''Bruce''': ''Three''? That's...
-->'''Teddy''': You're going to say it's impossible, and [[ThisIsThePartWhere then I'm going to make]] a speech about the blinding capabilities of the JPL team, and then you're going to do the math in your head and say something like "the overtime alone will be a nightmare".
-->'''Bruce''': The overtime alone will be a nightmare.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Mitch Henderson sent Rich Purnell's calculations to the ''Hermes'' crew behind Sanders' back, and the crew voted to go against NASA orders to use those calculations to take the ''Hermes'' back to Mars to rescue Watney, all knowing they would face court-martial or being banned from the space program as a result. [[spoiler: In the "Refocused" extra, it's made explicit that Mitch Henderson becomes the sole fall guy for the whole end-run around NASA -- explaining why Martinez is piloting for Ares V -- but it hasn't hurt him too badly; he moves into private consultancy and, although he and Teddy are more than willing to hurl insults at each other, they meet a few times a year to play golf together. Depending on who you believe, either Teddy really sucks at golf, or Mitch cheats.]]

* ShirtlessScene: When Mark returns to the [=HAB=] after the initial accident her strips off his shirt to check is wound. He's banged up and looks like death warmed over after being abandoned, but viewers get to see Creator/MattDamon's bare chest. It occurs again towards the end, but now to show how malnourished he is after trying to stretch his rations.

* SnarkToSnarkCombat: The movie starts out with this, with Mark reporting on the soil he's collecting and Martinez snarking that Mark had "found dirt", then Watney counters with Martinez's job of just making sure visually that the [=MAV=] is standing up.

* NotSoAboveItAll: During the "Council of Elrond" scene the normally uptight Teddy Sanders insists that if they're going to make ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' references, he be given the codename "Glorfindel".[[note]]In the book (but not in the film), Glorfindel was an elf-lord who found the fellowship as they approached Rivendell and put Frodo on his own horse so he could ride ahead of the Ringwraiths and cross into Rivendell safely. He also died during the First Age fighting *balrogs* after the Fall of Gondolin, was allowed for his heroic deeds to reincarnate very quickly, and came back to Middle-Earth during the Second Age to fight evil more- while (most) elves eventually reincarnate in Valinor, Glorfindel is the only elf known in Tolkien's legendarium to *go back* to Middle-Earth.[[/note]]

* NotSoAboveItAll: During the "Council of Elrond" scene the normally uptight Teddy Sanders insists that if they're going to make ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' references, he be given the codename "Glorfindel".[[note]]In the book (but not in the film), Glorfindel was an elf-lord who found the fellowship as they approached Rivendell and put Frodo on his own horse so he could ride ahead of the Ringwraiths and cross into Rivendell safely.[[/note]]

* LatexSpaceSuit: The Martian EVA suits are made of a strong, Kevlar-like material. Aside from the fishbowl helmet and some equipment on their back, they are skintight albeit padded out with an insulated jumpsuit underneath. On the other hand, the vacuum EVA suits are very similar to NASA's current EMU suits -- big, bulky, and uncomfortable two-piece hardsuits.

** In the book, Mark's "I'm the first person to be alone on an entire planet" is more of a lament that he's ''incredibly'' lonely, punctuated by the fact that he wasn't even the first person off the ARES III landing craft, and serves to show how his mind is wandering when he's not performing tasks. In the movie, the speech occurs while he's crossing Mars to get to Schiaparelli Crater, and omits the middle part, making it more a statement of wonder about the fantastic nature of his situation.

** The real-world Curiosity rover did long-range exploration of Mars with specialized aluminum wheels that are lighter and more durable than conventional rubber tires. This is because Mars' sandy and rocky terrain makes it difficult to gain proper traction, and even at incredibly slow speeds of 140 meters per hour (0.086 mph), traversal can cause tremendous damage to the wheels (in the course of 8 years Curiosity traveled a grand total of 21 kilometers or 12.5 miles). The Mars Rovers in the film resemble Earth-based trucks, complete with large rubber tires, and, according to the book, travel at about 25kph. To reach Pathfinder and the Ares 4 lander, Mark's Rover travels thousands of kilometers and nearly two hundred times faster than Curiosity, while pulling a trailer with even smaller rubber tires, yet none of them get damaged.

** The Martian atmosphere is so thin that it could never displace multi-ton objects like the launch vehicle depicted in the film. Even with heavy storms as depicted in the movie, it would at most feel like a breeze (author Andy Weir has admitted that he knew this when he wrote the scene, but [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality needed it that way]] in order to strand Watney). It is estimated that for Martian winds to have the same force as category 5 hurricane winds on Earth, that wind would need to be somehow travelling at a speed of 40,000 km/h, or 41 times the Martian speed of sound.
** Watney is able to wake up once the storm passes in relatively short order, with the dust it kicked up nowhere to be seen. Martian dust storms are noteworthy for the ability to linger for weeks or even months at a time; this is what killed the Opportunity rover when it was starved of solar power in a storm whose effects lasted from May to October.
** Mars, in the film, exhibits Earth gravity, presumably for ease of filming. Mars has only 0.376 Earth gravity, so a 100 lb weight would only weigh about 38 lbs. Watney would have far more bounce to his step both inside and outside the Hab.

** As Vincent Kapoor notes, it takes 12 minutes for a one-way message to between Mars and Earth, so the entire operation to intercept Watney would already be over by the time NASA received word they were just starting. Understandably, the climax of the film is edited to appear like Hermes's communications are being received by NASA almost instantaneously for a dramatic build-up.

* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Mark, after he gets the oxygen/hydrogen mix wrong on his water factory. He immediately makes a video log saying as much in a dry, matter-of-fact manner, while his clothes and hair are still smoldering. The next time he tries it, he's in a jury-rigged bomb suit which also serves the purpose of keeping his breath from affecting the process (he suspects his exuberant yelling over his success caused the blast).
* BabiesEverAfter: As in the book, Beck and Johanssen strike up a romance over the course of the mission. The WhereAreTheyNow credits shows them as brand-new parents still in the delivery ward as they watch the Ares-5 astronauts take off. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83IgeCivqEE deleted scene]] shows that Commander Lewis was fully aware of the (against regulations) relationship, but allowed it to continue due to the mission's extraordinary circumstances.

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: The JPL team dust off their old computers when Mission Control determines that Mark is going for [[spoiler: the Mars ''Pathfinder'' probe and the ''Sojourner'' rover (that landed on Mars in 1997)]] and use it for communication.

** At one point, Mark mentions ComicBook/IronMan. Assuming that the world of ''The Martian'' contains the MCU and not just Marvel comic books, then he's completely failed to notice that [[Creator/SebastianStan Beck]] and [[Creator/MichaelPena Martinez]] look a ''lot'' like characters from [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Marvel films]]. Johanssen, team's tech, was both [[Film/FantasticFour2015 The Invisible Woman]] and had a cameo in ''Film/IronMan2''. It's not clear if he's ever met Kapoor, but he'd be surprised as the resemblance to someone from ''Film/DoctorStrange2016''. Furthermore, one of the Asgardian actors in ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' looks suspiciously like Mark himself.

* ColdEquation: Downplayed. Teddy Sanders vetoes the Rich Purnell maneuver because that puts the entire Hermes crew at risk. He decides to let the Hermes continue to Earth unhindered and proceed with using the Chinese booster to send supplies to Mark even though that option is fraught with risk on actually delivering the supplies safely and will arrive after Mark has run out of food. Although Teddy is actively focused on keeping everyone alive, he has knowingly chosen a path that would, in all likelihood, result in Mark's death despite their best efforts.

* DescriptionCut: Vincent Kapoor muses what could be going through Watney's head when the man is stranded all alone on a distant planet with little hope of survival, and it cuts to Mark drying himself off, listening to "Turn the Beat Around".

* EiffelTowerEffect: When the NationsOfTheWorldMontage cuts to Trafalgar square, Big Ben can be seen in the background.

* HypocriticalHumor: Watney complains about MissionControl trying to get him excited about their insane plan to launch him into orbit in a completely stripped down MAV by saying he'll go faster than anyone in the history of space travel. Then he admits it actually sounds pretty cool. But he's not going to tell them that.

* IndyPloy: The crew has to improvise heavily during the climatic maneuver to snatch Mark from orbit.

* NeverTrustATrailer: Mark's humor is limited to a single snark. The trailer also seems to imply that he has a wife and child he doesn't have in the movie -- they're his crewmate's family and not plot relevant. And the trailer makes it seem like NASA finds out that Mark is alive by seeing a message he sent with ''Pathfinder'', rather than through satellite imagery.
* NewscasterCameo: Several real-life news agencies, including CNN, BBC, and CNA, report on the events of the film. We even see [[Series/TheNewsroom Jeff Daniels in a press related role]].

-->'''Teddy''': You're going to say it's impossible, and then I'm going to make a speech about the blinding capabilities of the JPL team, and then you're going to do the math in your head and say something like "the overtime alone will be a nightmare".

** In the book [[spoiler:Beck is the one to retrieve Mark, and the "Iron Man" maneuver is discussed but dropped as being too dangerous. The Hermes is able to approach the MAV within tether length, so Beck and Watney are always safely tethered and the Iron Man maneuver is unnecessary.]] In the movie [[spoiler:the closest approach is outside of tether length, thus Lewis overrides Beck and goes out to rescue Watney herself, fitting her role as TheAtoner for leaving him behind in the first place. When the tether falls short, Lewis prepares to do an untethered space walk to close the gap when Mark invokes the Iron Man maneuver instead. Fortunately, Lewis had not yet unhooked as the tether line plays a major role in catching Mark and bringing him in safely.]]

** In the "Right Stuff" promotional short, Watney asks the NASA appointed psychiatrist "How did ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} talk to whales?"

** One of the prgrams Mark finds on Johanssen's computer is a copy of ''VideoGame/LeatherGoddessesOfPhobos''.

* SigilSpam: The NASA logo appears ''everywhere'', even on the soles of the EVA suits' shoes. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_insignia logo]] is protected under federal laws that make it illegal to use it in a way that indicates NASA endorsement of something if no such endorsement exists. For that reason, the official logo is often replaced with a generic alternative in works of fiction (for instance, in ''Film/{{Interstellar}}''), a very specific form of [[BrandX Greeking]]. In the case of ''The Martian'', NASA actually produced a number of tie-in videos (released on their TV channels and Website/YouTube) as a way of drumming up interest in the exploration of Mars. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory logo turns up in several places as well.

** The Martian atmosphere is so thin that it could never displace multi-ton objects like the launch vehicle depicted in the film. Even with heavy storms as depicted in the movie, it would at most feel like a breeze (author Andy Weir has admitted that he knew this when he wrote the scene, but [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality needed it that way]] in order to strand Watney).

* PopculturalOsmosisFailure: Rich Purnell's proposed SpaceshipSlingshotStunt is named [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Project Elrond]], a reference Montrose, the PR person, doesn't get because she is the only one in the room who's not a trained scientist. [[GeekReferencePool Everyone else gets the reference immediately]] - even the ''Director of NASA''.

--> '''Teddy''': You say it's impossible, I make a rousing speech about the blinding capabilities of the JPL team, and you do the math in your head and say that the overtime will be a nightmare.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The movie inaccurately implies Mark would be receiving sufficient vitamins, minerals, fat and other essential nutrients from his grown potatoes and rations. The book explains that the Hab actually has a large supply of multivitamin tablets specifically to prevent this problem, but it was skipped over in the film.

--> '''Teddy''': You say it's impossible, I make a rousing speech about the blinding capabilities of the Jet Propulsion Labs, you scratch your head and say that the overtime will be a nightmare.

** In the movie she expresses her feelings towards the nerdy scientists by half-jokingly saying "I hate you all." In the book she's more direct, saying "I bet none of you ever got laid in high school".

** The Martian atmosphere is so thin that it could never displace multi-ton objects like the launch vehicle depicted in the film. Even with heavy storms as depicted in the movie, it would at most feel like a breeze (author Andy Weir has admitted that he knew this when he wrote the scene, but [[NecessaryWeasel needed it that way]] in order to strand Watney).

** When NASA informs Watney that the Ares crew has not yet been told he is still alive. He is furious and responds with a ClusterFBomb. The movie keeps its [=PG-13=] rating through clever editing like switching to an exterior shot of Watney through the window clearly mouthing "What the F...?" without sound or by having a technician reading Mark's written response but substituting the phrase "F-word" several times. After Vincent asks him to watch his language, he angrily adds a new response and while the content is never shared with the audience we see NASA employees' reaction to his message and the next scene has Teddy apologizing to the President.