From best-selling book to major motion picture, “The Martian” thrills the audience, generates clever humor and becomes one of the best astronaut films of all time.
After a fierce, unexpected storm, astronaut and botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon), becomes separated from his crew and stranded. On Mars. Watney, determined to survive, must defy the odds and exploit all of his skills to do whatever it takes to contact NASA and avoid starvation.
While Watney works to stay alive, NASA frantically searches for ways to bring him home. But when space is unreliable and time is tight, anything could go wrong. “The Martian” contains all of the intensity of “Gravity” (2013) and all the emotional struggle of “Cast Away” (2000), making it a must-see fall film.
Oscar-winner Matt Damon delivers one of his best performances yet as Watney. He captures the loneliness of a stranded astronaut while nailing the character’s dry humor and sensible personality. Damon is accompanied by a full-list of great actors including Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Peña and Mackenzie Davis, each of whom fantastically brings their character and the story to life.
Another refreshing aspect of “The Martian” is its lack of cliché breakdown scenes. There are intense emotional parts, sure, but when something fell apart, Watney figured out a way to fix the problem instead of crying about it, making the movie inspiring and empowering. “The Martian” displayed the resolution of one problem after another without hesitation, helping the movie progress and never become tiring.
With all the astronaut, space and sci-fi movies making it to the big-screen, it would be easy to lump “The Martian” in with the others. However, it holds its own. It is not a regular sci-fi, action film; it is much more than that. The film isn’t diluted with action scenes every couple of minutes or with dull, unnecessary romance. The film’s intensity, phenomenal acting and dry humor forges manages to keep the audience engaged for the entire two-and-a-half hour runtime.
Plain and simple: “The Martian” is definitely one to keep on the list of movies to watch this autumn. It’s smart, it’s intense and it’s witty. Damon performs at his best to portray an intelligent, likable, inspiring character. Though the run time goes longer than most films, it’s hard to look away.
“The Martian” premieres Friday, Oct. 2.