The Martian: 10 Reasons Why It's Better Than Interstellar

7. The Score & Music

Perhaps the most unexpected pleasure of The Martian is its soundtrack. The diegetic sound a cavalcade of hilariously cheesy 80s pop hits which provides a delightful running gag focused around Jessica Chastain's Captain Melissa Lewis. Littered throughout includes the likes of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff", the Happy Days theme tune and perhaps the most poetic usage of David Bowie's seminal "Starman" ever put to screen. Further supporting the nostalgic tunes is a dense and fulfilling score from Harry Gregson-Williams which elegantly and equally intensely renders the scenes; forming a prominent, emotional edge to everything unfolding. Like the very best audio work, it counteracts and balances what is visually unfolding, together forming a beautifully symphonic marriage. The same cannot be said for Interstellar. Usually a total master of his craft, long-time Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer truly dropped the ball here, providing a score so intensely over-powering it often dulls the senses like empty white noise and consistently feels intrusive. Even worse is that Nolan supported the idea of the score blocking particular dialogue, suggesting the sounds of space wouldn't exactly accommodate to chit-chat. Artistically and factually true no doubt, but the primary task of film is to entertain. If your spectators are already baffled by endless jargon anyway, they'll need to listen up; something Zimmer's warbling, earthy noise frequently stops.