Astronaut Mark Watney is left stranded on Mars after an emergency evacuation, and must rely on his survival skills to keep himself alive.
DRAMA/SCI-FI
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The Martian (2015)Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Drew Goddard Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Donald Glover, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis Based on the novel by Andy Weir Oscar Nominations - Best Picture, Best Actor (Matt Damon), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects |
The Martian is easily Ridley Scott's best film since Gladiator, as it proves to the world that he is still one of the best filmmakers in the business. This film encapsulates the human will to survive better than any other in a long while, with a masterful performance from Matt Damon and a colorful cast of veteran character actors alongside him. The Martian shows how real science can be used in the most severe life-threatening situations and could even be used to supply a human colony with food on other planets.
Matt Damon delivers one of the finest performances in his career as astronaut Mark Watney, who is stranded on Mars for an indeterminable amount of time and is forced to figure out how to keep himself alive until NASA can save him. Over the course of the film, we can see Watney's hope start to diminish and his body start to emaciate. Despite the film's overall hopeful and charming tone, it's hard not to sympathize with Watney's situation, as his rescue is not the most realistic outcome. The Martian is one of the best films of the year and a surprisingly uplifting film that celebrates the strength of the human spirit and the joy of exploration. Matt Damon does a phenomenal job of keeping the audience both entertained and terrified at the same time and it is because of him that this film turned out to be such a hit. After both Gravity and Interstellar showed me how easily space can destroy you, it's refreshing to see a film that shows the dangers of space travel as well as how hope can save your life. |
The Martian proves to be one of Ridley Scott's best film in years and one of Matt Damon's best performances to date. The film is a rousing survival story of one man facing insurmountable odds to stay alive until he is rescued. Mars, and to an extent space, have never seemed more dangerous. Hopefully, Ridley Scott keeps this quality up with his next couple of films.
The film is a true ensemble cast of some of Hollywood's most talented actors, with all of them turning in great performances. As stated earlier, Matt Damon leads the charge with of his best performances to date. He plays Mark Watney, the man stranded on Mars. As he details his progress in finding solutions to keep him alive longer, Damon does a wonderful job of bringing a sense of hope to the film. Conversely, as rescue seems all but lost, Damon does an excellent job of conveying the character's loss of hope. Behind the camera, Ridley Scott shows he still knows how to direct a great movie. Following a string of flops, The Martian is a return to his sci-fi roots. This pays off, as it's his best film in years. I also appreciated the filmmakers approach to being as realistic as possible to a situation like this, with everyone involved doing their homework. I was starting to lose hope with each successive film Ridley Scott had come out with, but The Martian is a solid return to form. I mean that both in regards to genre and quality. To go with the expert directing, Matt Damon gives an exceptional performance, giving us a character to root. An uplifting film that shows what the human body and mind is truly capable of doing during a life or death scenario. One that I can easily recommend to anybody. |