Just like the novel, the movie shifts routinely between locations. We have Watney struggling to survive on dusty Mars. Those scenes feature an orange-dominated palette with numerous shades and a strong contrast between the Martian surface and the nearly airless sky above. The 4K UHD HDR edition makes every rock and background hill pop out with convincing detail. Filmed in Jordan, The Martian does an excellent job making you believe it’s actually taking place on Mars.
Also stars of the show are the various pieces of technology Watney uses. There’s the habitat (hab), the rover, the launcher, solar panels, hothouse…and many more. The production crew went full on in imbuing each of these with countless details that make the technology appear used, lived in, and realistic. Only the 4K HDR disc does justice to the hard work that went into each set and prop.
While contrasting orange filters with blue filters isn’t exactly a novel trick, The Martian does it very well. As Mark Watney survives on Mars, the story cuts to scenes set on Earth, mostly at NASA HQ and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The look and feel here manifest mostly as human but more calculated, with an almost clinical vibe. It’s clear the filmmakers wanted a blue-infused look to make sure we get that Earth is the blue planet Watney yearns to go back to. This works very well, and looks even better.