Gravity - Really needed the 3D to shine. A better film than Avatar, but still seems curiously inert without the 3D and spectacle of the large screen. Nicely paced, good tension, but ultimately more of a tech demo and series of action set pieces than a story.
The Martian - Strictly inferior to the novel. The compression/removal of events to fit comfortably into standard film running length buggers up the conflict arc, and things seem to get easier and easier for Watney over time instead of rising to a natural climax. The altered ending is campy and something of a misread...this is a story that is first and foremost a love letter to hard science and simple, pragmatic solutions. A fun film, but also an utterly forgettable one. Probably the least impressive Best Picture candidate.
Interstellar - The best of the three by a country mile, although not without its own pacing and comprehension issues. This is in some ways the Bioshock Infinite of films...the science is ultimately in service to the story, and not the other way around. Irritable pedants will use that as an excuse to attack and dismiss, but like Infinite, Interstellar is a Story Worth Telling, with a lot of big ideas and powerful thematic beats. Children of Men, Interstellar, Her, and Ex Machina are the tent pole science fiction films of the last few years. None are exacting in their science, all are hugely ambitious in their storytelling and scope.
QUALITY:
1. Interstellar
2. The Martian
3. Gravity
As for that science...all of these films had science advisors, and you'd probably be surprised to learn just how MUCH of the science is actually perfectly feasible/in line with our best understanding. Gravity was the most silly, the Martian was the most serious-minded (although they kind of blew it up in the film with that preposterous ending).
SCIENCE:
1. The Martian (book)
2. Interstellar/ The Martian (film)
3. Gravity
The Martian - Strictly inferior to the novel. The compression/removal of events to fit comfortably into standard film running length buggers up the conflict arc, and things seem to get easier and easier for Watney over time instead of rising to a natural climax. The altered ending is campy and something of a misread...this is a story that is first and foremost a love letter to hard science and simple, pragmatic solutions. A fun film, but also an utterly forgettable one. Probably the least impressive Best Picture candidate.
Interstellar - The best of the three by a country mile, although not without its own pacing and comprehension issues. This is in some ways the Bioshock Infinite of films...the science is ultimately in service to the story, and not the other way around. Irritable pedants will use that as an excuse to attack and dismiss, but like Infinite, Interstellar is a Story Worth Telling, with a lot of big ideas and powerful thematic beats. Children of Men, Interstellar, Her, and Ex Machina are the tent pole science fiction films of the last few years. None are exacting in their science, all are hugely ambitious in their storytelling and scope.
QUALITY:
1. Interstellar
2. The Martian
3. Gravity
As for that science...all of these films had science advisors, and you'd probably be surprised to learn just how MUCH of the science is actually perfectly feasible/in line with our best understanding. Gravity was the most silly, the Martian was the most serious-minded (although they kind of blew it up in the film with that preposterous ending).
SCIENCE:
1. The Martian (book)
2. Interstellar/ The Martian (film)
3. Gravity