When a sandstorm hits a crew working on Mars, Mark Watney is presumed dead after being hit with debris and left on the planet. The only thing is that he didn’t die, he then must use all of his knowledge to keep himself alive.
I wasn’t massively looking forward to this film in all honesty, hence why I have just caught up with seeing it now. Just didn’t put it to the top of my must see list after all we have had Gravity and Interstellar in recent times and this just felt like oh another space film. But not just a space film but an astronaut alone in space . . . I mean come on seriously how many of a similar thing do we need so close together. However I must admit that I was therefore very surprised that I liked parts of this one a lot. Sometimes I guess it is best not to expect much from a film and you end up enjoying it a little bit more than you ever expected.
Matt Damon is a good established leading man and he really shows what he can do in this film. He was engaging, had the right level of charm and charisma to pull off the tough role considering he is just talking to a computer screen and cameras for a high proportion of the film. But that certainly does help to show what a good actor he is, at times I do doubt and wonder if I like Matt Damon but I think I do. Mainly because he has been in so many fantastic roles now over the years and he pulls this one out of the bag.
The film has more funnier moments than expected as well and you cannot help but think about how it would feel to be all alone in space and having to do everything you can to survive. Considering just making any contact with NASA took a lot of time, it is quite a wonder he did not go totally mad very quickly being alone. Back at NASA though it is not really going well considering they announced Mark was dead and had a funeral for him. So when they had to admit they made a mistake it was not fantastic. We got plenty of scenes as they all tried to come up with different plans on a rescue mission to save Mark from another planet.
I thought the film had a very good cast put together and it was good to see Sean Bean in a film again as it has been a while since I have seen anything with him in it! A very straight and serious role for Kristen Wiig is always a nice thing as well, to show that she can do different things. Overall I did find the film engaging and better than expected in the entertainment department, well done to Ridley Scott for that. Some of the shots of Mars were breathtaking and really showed just how much Scott wanted us to believe we were all with Mark on the planet. I did not go and see the 3D version so if anyone can let me know if that was worth it or not? I am still very anti-3D.
Matt Damon really does deserve a lot of credit for the way he keeps this film going and makes you want to see him get home. Obviously I am not going to spoil what happens, you will have to go and watch the film yourself to see the outcome, but I will say that it has plenty of twists and turns. The humor factor was a good bonus, as with Interstellar and Gravity they kept it really heavy so a lighter mood for The Martian which I think will see a lot of people picking it as a favorite from the space films.
So maybe this film is an example that the sci-fi genre when it comes to space still has a lot of different things to offer? The running time for the film could have been a little bit risky but it pays off as it does not actually seem to be that long. Would you fancy being the only person stranded on a whole planet alone?
