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Many People Thought “The Martian” Was Based on a True Story, Are Now Disappointed

Twitter explodes with hilarious comments on Ridley Scott pic

Oct 9, 2015 07:26 GMT  ·  By
Matt Damon in “The Martian,” which many wrongly assumed it was based on a true story
   Matt Damon in “The Martian,” which many wrongly assumed it was based on a true story

It’s been a week since “The Martian” opened in theaters and it’s already recouped its budget of $108 million (€105.7 million). With all this attention and hype around it - it’s one of the most anticipated releases of the fall - comes another thing: the admission of thinking it was based on a true story.

File this under “yeah, so this happened.” Right now, Twitter is being flooded with comments from people who either believed themselves that it was, or have heard others talking about the movie as if it were inspired by actual events.

“The Martian” is too confusing for some

Before we proceed, let’s get one thing straight: “The Martian” is not based on a true story, for the simple reason that no one has ever been to Mars. It might be a very compelling piece of filmmaking, but it is all fiction, 100 percent.

What it is based on, instead, is a best-selling book by Andy Weir, of the same name, which was adapted to screenplay by Drew Goddard. Obviously, the book is fictitious as well.

Still, the film made for such a convincing experience that many people left the theater thinking they had just seen another one of those “inspired by true events” stories. Then, as you can see from the Twitter samples embedded below, others went into the theater thinking they were about to view one such film, and in this case, the Twitterverse finds their ignorance insulting.

It’s not that everyone should be well read in the field of space exploration, but one would assume that the news that man has landed on Mars for the first time would reach even those people who aren’t really interested in the topic.

The fact that they would speak on this before thinking or reading up on the topic is perhaps the most hilarious part.

All in all, Twitter is having a blast right now at the expense of those who believed that “The Martian” was a true story, while they are feeling the burn of shame and / or disappointment.

“The Martian,” Matt Damon at his best

In the film, Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, an astronaut who is left stranded on Mars after an expedition is cut short by a violent storm. He has everything he needs to survive but in very limited qualities, so that he knows that by the time he manages to signal Earth so they can dispatch a crew to save him, he will have starved or died of thirst.

His mission is, obviously, to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“The Martian” also stars Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Aksel Hennie and Donald Glover, but it’s Matt Damon who’s getting the most love from the critics.

With a solid 93% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes (and a 94% Fresh from the fans), “The Martian” brings Matt Damon’s most solid performance to date. And that’s saying a lot, given his already impressive career.

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