The Martian

Exceptional sci-fi drama from Ridley Scott about an astronaut (Matt Damon) stranded on Mars and the efforts made to rescue him. As others have pointed out, there's more than a little bit here that reminds you of movies like Apollo 13 and Cast Away (particularly the former). I fail to see how that's a knock on it but it's being presented as such by some. We all come to movies with our own expectations and baggage. I'm not a Scott fanboy expecting him to wow me (his last two films were not great). I just wanted to be entertained and this did the trick. It's a movie aimed at the masses that is smarter than your average movie aimed at the masses. Maybe it's not for all nerds (a quick glance at some of the reviews shows a lot of inane nit-picking from people who seem to have no concept of dramatic license), but I didn't find the movie dumbed-down at all. I also want to say how much I appreciated that this managed to stay remarkably light and positive while still maintaining the tension, proving once again that you don't have to be depressing to be good drama. If you haven't seen The Martian yet, you should. It's a great film with a first-rate cast, good direction, and stellar effects. If you're just looking for a quality movie to entertain you for a while, this should be something you'll enjoy.

Although The Martian is set in an indeterminate future I have questions about labeling it science fiction. One of the film's best strengths is that it is based on what we know about the landscape and atmosphere of Mars right at this point in time. It's a desert planet with water and no life as we know it. Compared to what Matt Damon has to go through, Robinson Crusoe was on that tropical isle for a picnic.

They never really say just exactly what year The Martian is set in. The film in that sense avoids a trap like so many others fall into. Just this past year we saw 2015 come and go and it wasn't really anything like the 2015 that Marty McFly experienced. That's just one example.

Of course you can also never predict what popular trends will be there. That's purely speculative. So you can't have Matt Damon's character listening to current music. His captain's taste in music was 70s disco and that really became a running joke. It's all he heard for the months he was on Mars. Personally I'd prefer a selection of 30s and 40s music with Bing Crosby at the top of my list. But if that's all I heard for months on end, I'd grow to hate Der Bingle.

And that's part of the story, the everlasting boredom trying to keep your mind fresh and busy with tasks for your survival. Like Mr. Roberts from tedium to apathy and always boredom.

What happens in The Martian is that Damon is part of an astronaut team and gets left behind when a Martian sand storm erupts and the crew flees on the space ship. Captain Jessica Chastain takes when she thinks Damon was killed.

The future also brings us better communication and NASA learns that Matt's still there. To say that there's a public relations problem is putting it mildly. Just leaving him there is actually an option discussed. But that goes against the code of a decent civilization which while we're not at Star Trek level yet, we look to be heading that way.

Although The Martian splits time evenly with Damon's plight and the efforts to rescue him, Matt's time alone on the screen with the full range of emotions displayed is what got him his Best Actor nomination. Besides the realistic depiction of Mars, his performance is the other pillar on which this fine film rests. I would give mention to Jessica Chastain and her fine performance as a tough and yet humane leader of her team.

Besides Matt Damon, The Martian is also up for Best Picture and for a flock of awards in the technical categories. It should take home deserved statues this year.

Strong, well-executed, moving. Classic Scott-style directing, with its fast pace, yet never leaving emotion behind, keeping you glued to the screen throughout the runtime. Reminiscent of the original Alien, yet clearly proving the director's overall increased maturity and experience. My thoughts on the cinematography are mixed, from the one hand side the movie features a particularly bland color palette, most sequences however are nice, vivid and well-balanced. What strikes me the most is the fact that they didn't account for the reduced gravity on Mars, however not only is the price cut behind this clear, but also you forget it surprisingly easily in the first 10 minutes or so, since everything else is so gripping. The visual effects are simply flawless, realistic to the maximum and beautiful at the same time. The story itself and the characters are simply masterful, not at all out-of-this-world, or should i say the way facts are presented combined with the pacing makes you believe it's all happening at the time you're watching the movie. Though i am probably not meant to make this comparison, it leaves (in my humble opinion) Nolan's "Interstellar", a great movie on its own, completely in the dust, simply proving the effect Scott's experience has had on his work. A must-watch.

This is a rare, light-hearted science fiction film that deliberately downplays the most common fears about the future and the unknown universe, focusing instead on human effort and the science that can save humanity.The film has a tech-geek's idiocy and optimism. (Matt Damon, of course, did it perfectly.)Even if the movie is a little bit stereotypical in its emotional setting, it can still touch the audience at crucial moments.

The film is the finest examples of science fiction and science fiction embodies everything required. Matt Damon has given the right role until the end of the case. Besides the fact that one does not really need. All movies have moved on their own. We have seen examples of this, such as the Buried and 127 Hours of very good quality movies. The master Ridley Scott's science fiction after a long separation has made a great comeback with this film case. After this film, Ridley Scott disappointing those who say the sound was cut. Thank you for this wonderful film Ridley masters. Maybe the best in 2015, as I mentioned in the title.