Every week at SiftPop.com, we challenge our writers to come up with their favorite answer to a movie-related prompt tied to a recent release. This week, with the release of Slingshot, we’re discussing some of our favorite movie astronauts! Let us know your favorites @SiftPop!
I feel like I’ve brought up the science fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey more times than I can remember, but it has and probably will continue to rank near the top of my list of favorite movies in the genre. Part of that is easily because of the role of Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea), astronaut and scientist aboard the Discovery One spacecraft bound for Jupiter to investigate the iconic mystery monolith of the movie. With his confrontation with HAL 9000, and his mission in jeopardy, his role tackles both the concept of humanity against artificial intelligence alongside the quest to explore the unknown. There is a reason when science fiction is discussed that Bowman often comes up as the poster child for it, in the thumbnails of video essays or on the idea of humanity’s future, as 2001 truly carries his character into the great beyond into areas of the unknown. (Joseph Davis)
As one of six astronauts of the Ares III, the third manned mission to Mars, botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is the only member of the crew abandoned on the red planet amidst a violent storm, impaled and presumed dead. The Martian is such a perfect film because of its ingrained inspiration in isolation. Cast Away explored a lot of the same themes of loneliness and self-reliance, but Mark doesn’t find himself stranded on a deserted island — rather, he is literally the sole living being on an entire planet for most of the film. Over time, just knowing that the nearest human embrace is a million miles away might drive even the staunchest hermit insane, but in the face of overwhelming odds, Mark is left with only one option: to science the shit out of his circumstance. He has a decent supply of food to start, but he has to make a significant amount more on a planet where nothing grows. Mars does ultimately come to fear his botany powers, but Mark must also rely on mechanical engineering and physics to survive. This is a trait we see in many real-life astronauts who aren’t just trained in one field of space science. Instead, they have multiple levels of expertise should they have to assume other duties. By crunching numbers, cultivating crops, and repurposing life-supporting machinery, the titular Martian, Mark Watney is able to use science and a truly awe-inspiring global response to stay alive long enough to be rescued. (Jonathan Fedee)
Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) is faced with an impossible dilemma. Having woken up from his space slumber 90 years too early, he is stranded in the spaceship Avalon with no chance of rescue in his lifetime and no way of putting himself back to sleep. He tries to enjoy having the ship to himself for about a year while enjoying the company of the android, Arthur (Michael Sheen). Still, eventually, he realizes he needs some human companionship. The good news is, he knows how to make an individual pod wake the person inside up, but there’s one major moral issue: He would be dooming that person to the same life he has, stranded on the Avalon for the rest of their life. Indeed, he can’t do that; even if Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) seems like the perfect life partner for him, you still can’t take someone’s life away from them. But if Jim spends another four or five decades in complete isolation, he will get very lonely. If it were in Jim’s situation, I’d have no idea what I would do, even if I decided to wake up Aurora as Jim eventually does; I wouldn’t know if I should be upfront about what I’d done or pretend as Jim does that her pod malfunctioned. If I did as Jim does, I’d constantly live in fear she might work out what I’d done and wonder what I could say to justify this act. It’s one aspect of Passengers that has always fascinated me. (John Tillyard)
What makes Charlton Heston’s Taylor such a fascinating character in Planet of the Apes? He is intelligent and resourceful, which makes him a survivor and explorer in space (and time). But this is a man who has purposefully left all of humanity behind, as he lost faith long ago. His confidence allows him to believe he can take power whenever he lands. His cold and abrasive personality puts him at odds with all his comrades. He gets joy from making fun of and provoking his fellow astronauts on this dangerous trip. Heston delivers a towering performance (as he always did) thanks to his endless charisma and magnetic presence. Taylor is the perfect human to be left in a world of apes that once was ruled by humanity, because he hates humanity more than any other human, and must become their advocate and savior against this highly intelligent and resourceful society of apes. Planet of the Apes is a shocking and engrossing science fiction classic that is filled to the brim with thought-provoking themes. Its commentary on religion and government are more relevant today than they were even back in the late ‘60s. This film would never reach the same heights without the right human character and the right actor to portray them right at the center of it. Taylor and Heston deliver in impressive ways. (Shane Conto)
An astronaut by a way cooler name, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) has become an iconic character. Though he’s great across the entire four-movie franchise, for this particular list, I feel like the original Toy Story fits best. This is Buzz at his most space explorer-y and he works great as the straight man in Pixar’s first feature film. There’s something so perfect about him not initially being in on the bit of the fact that he’s just a toy that makes the original characterization work so well. Ironically, it’s a much better characterization than his own Lightyear movie. (Jake Bourgeois)