6 amazing plot twists that are missing from 'The Martian' movie
The film adaptation of "The Martian" keeps the bulk of the beloved science-heavy plot intact.
But it does skip some important scenes and details in the book.
1. Like when Watney realizes he's accidentally turned his Mars hab into a bomb, due to some miscalculations in his turn-rocket-fuel-into-water formula.
In the book, Watney has to drain the hab of oxygen so the air won't ignite, and turn down the temperature — that way, he doesn't kill off soil bacteria that's helping grow his precious potatoes.
The movie just skips straight to the explosion:
2. The airlock on the hab does break in the movie, but in the book the whole affair is a lot more complicated. Watney has to straight up "MacGyver" himself out of the situation with duct tape and a one-armed spacesuit.
3. In the book Watney gets really fed up with NASA bossing him around. So when the water reclaimer breaks, he ignores NASA's instructions, takes the whole thing apart, fixes it himself, and puts it back together.
After all, how are they going to punish him for not following orders when he's millions of miles away?
4. Watney may sass NASA, but the book contains a devastating moment when he accidentally destroys Pathfinder: his only way of communicating with Earth.
The movie completely leaves out this heart-sinking plot twist.
Dismayed, Watney sets out on a 3,200 kilometer trek to Schiaparelli Crater — where the next manned mission is supposed to land on Mars. It looks like a pretty easy trip in the movie.
5. But in the book, the journey does not go smoothly. Watney has to navigate around a massive dust storm.
6. And after he manages to skirt the storm, his rover flips over while he's driving down into the crater.
This first Martian vehicular accident is also missing from Goddard and Scott's film adaptation.
So the movie is missing a few critical scenes, but it's still pretty true to the book (and full of science).
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