The Martian ends with an uplifting message, proving the enduring power of human ingenuity and hope even in the face of dire circumstances. Based off the book of the same name, The Martian is one of many films revolving around the rescue of Matt Damon. Damon plays astronaut Mark Watney, a botanist and mechanical engineer serving aboard the fictional Ares III manned mission to Mars in the near-future of 2035. Presumed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in a freak dust storm, Watney is stranded by himself on the Red Planet, forcing him to get creative to survive during the long wait for rescue.
The Martian‘s grounded near-future realism is second-to-none, and once again Matt Damon is charismatic enough that it’s believable the entire planet would join forces in hopes of bringing him home safe. The greatest appeal of the film is arguably watching Watney fashion all sorts of MacGuyver-esque creations out of the left-behind NASA equipment to live off of for a grand total of 561 “Sols”, or Martian days. His genius ideas include growing potatoes out of human bio-waste and modifying a Martian rover for his own needs.
How Human Ingenuity Saves The Day In The Martian
The Martian Is A Tale Of Clever Survival
In the end, a combination of Watney’s own clever ingenuity and the dedication of his fellow crewmates ensures that he is able to return home. After the catastrophic failure of the HAB’s airlock ruins his potato crop, the timeframe of Mark’s rescue is moved up considerably. Luckily, upon getting word that their comrade was alive and stranded on Mars, the returning crew of the Ares III mission that escaped the initial disaster unanimously agree to effectively mutiny, going back for Watney by using the Earth’s gravitational pull as a slingsH๏τ.
The rescue comes literally down-to-the-wire as Mark finds himself within eyesH๏τ of fellow astronaut and mission commander Melissa Lewis, who approaches him in space with a tethered Manned Maneuvering Unit. To close the gap, Mark makes the risky play of stabbing the palm of his own spacesuit, allowing the escaping air to propel him through space in a manner that Mark compares to an Iron Man suit in the book. Thus, Mark Watney is officially brought back home, safe in the arms of his crewmates.
After Mark returns, a timeskip to five years later shows him teaching a class to future astronauts, using his experiences to train NASA’s future in ᴅᴇᴀᴅly survival scenarios. The other astronauts and NASA personnel are seen watching the new Ares IV mission launch smoothly, with Beck and Johanssen seen holding a newborn, developing their secret romantic relationship that developed over the course of the mission further. Ares III pilot Major Rick Martinez amazingly returns for the next mission, despite having already spent over 900 days in space.
Beck and Johansson’s romance is elaborated on in a deleted scene, in which Commander Lewis outs them to the rest of the crew.
There Was An Alternate Ending To The Martian
The Film’s Themes Were Almost Stated Much More Directly
Though the final cut closes out on such a picture-perfect note, The Martian had an alternate ending that very nearly capped things off on a very different vibe. Initially, the film was to end with a monologue from Watney as the Hermes vessel looms over Earth, musing on the effort, resources, and cooperation it took to get him home. In the soliloquy, Watney chalks up his rescue to the base instinct of humanity to help out one another, listing off similar natural disasters in which humanitarian aid is at the forefront.
Watney chalks up his rescue to the base instinct of humanity to help out one another, listing off similar natural disasters in which humanitarian aid is at the forefront.
While certainly a nice sentiment, it’s easy to see why this alternate ending was cut. The monologue isn’t very interesting visually, and heavy-handedly beats the viewer over the head with the themes of the movie. Clearly a bit of script still overtly rooted in the film’s literary source material with its flowery language, the scene is perhaps a bit too obvious for the needs of The Martian‘s ending. Luckily, director Ridley Scott, or at least The Martian‘s editors, seemed to have realized this, leaving the segment on the cutting room floor.
How The Martian’s Themes Factor Into The Ending
Every Element Of The Finale Is Reflective Of The Story’s Meaning
Instead, the way the film ends in the final theatrical edit is a much smoother manifestation of the movie’s themes. The hopeful message of survival makes for a happy ending as Mark’s safety is ensured, and Mark’s opening statements to his class of students is the perfect distillation of the power of science in life-or-death scenarios. It was only by the grace of Mark’s intellect and ingenuity that he was able to survive for as long as he did, something the film stresses with his words to his class without spelling it out via narration.
Additionally, making Mark into a teacher highlights the film’s secondary theme of pᴀssing on knowledge to future generations. The entire hopeful premise of space exploration, like the Ares mission, is to dare to imagine a more wonderful future for the generations to come, and by pᴀssing down his experiences, Mark contributes to making a brighter tomorrow. The emphasis on Beck and Johansson’s child also reiterates this idea, calling to mind the idea of leaving the world better than one found it.
The Real Meaning Of The Martian Ending
The Martian Is Shockingly Uplifting For A Sci-Fi Movie
More than anything else, the themes plainly laid out in Mark’s cut monologue contain the true meaning of The Martian’s ending. The film and book both optimistically highlight the tendency of human beings to help one another, even across the vast distances of space. The Ares crew’s mutiny is the perfect example of this, putting their careers on the line just to bring their friend and colleague home safely. Although his rescue is dangerous and costly, it’s ultimately seen as a necessity by Mark’s fellow astronauts and the world at large, with even foreign space programs willing to help out.
The cross-cultural nature of this element is also emphasized by the broadcast of Mark’s rescue being shown all over the world, with crowds in multiple countries cheering for his safety.
The Martian is one of Ridley Scott’s best movies for being a rare science fiction film that actually celebrates the innovative nature of humanity rather than serving as an ominous warning against it. Ending on such a positive and uplifting note caps off a wonderfully realistic yet optimistic tale of survival in one of the harshest environments a human being could ever find themselves in. Ruminating on human innovation, altruism, survival, and the hope of a better future in the hands of science, The Martian ends on a satisfying note that truly drives home the action.
