The Martian

Dir Ridley Scott 

Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels. 

On a six team manned mission to Mars, the crew must abandon the planet immediately, and while escaping, one of them – Mark Whatney (Damon) is seemingly killed. However he was not, and now with no manned missions to Mars for four years – he must find a way to survive until they get there. 

Engaging from almost the get go – this is a very well made film. The primary ‘location’ which is Mars is realistic – and there are some well done 

The cast is a little congested – with so many different ‘locations’ for them all – Mars for Mark, multiple locations on Earth for NASA teams trying to get him home, and the team that left him behind on their ship returning to earth. There were moments where even Damon wasn’t on screen for almost 15-20 minutes. 

Considering the nature of the film, there were some genuinely funny moments where Mark is either talking to himself – and then when he is finally able to communicate with people back on earth 

The score is solid, and there is a soundtrack that is incorporated into the screenplay – which is also one of the positives considering that a bulk of the film only has one character on screen.  

A solid film, with some great performances – especially that of Damon – who I’ve reviewed a little bit lately. I feel like he has definitely improved his craft as he ages. Give this one a watch. 

4/5