The Martian (2015)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Starring:

Matt Damon

Jessica Chastain

Kristen Wiig

Plot:

An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Review:

This book has been on my radar for a while but it leans more hard science than I usually like to read so I haven’t really wanted to pick it up. However, I thought the movie would be a nice compromise.

I enjoyed the theme of hope throughout and I loved the fact that with every set back Mark, Matt Damon, didn’t succumb to despair and fought to survive. He never lost his humor and it made what could be a really depressing movie lighter.

There were a few things that I thought probably worked better in a book. Donald Glover’s character seemed kind of shoehorned in and was barely there but he seemed to have an important role. Not sure about Kristin Wiig’s character either, she was just sort of there. I also wasn’t a fan of the ending. It would have been easy to be anti-climactic but it went too far on the other side and was too over the top after a movie that seemed so grounded.

All in all I liked the movie, but it’s not one I need to own or probably even watch again.

3.5/5