The Martian

Wow! I knew this movie would be good judging by the amazing cast and from the trailers I've seen. The Martian exceeded all my expectations and is probably one of my favorite movies of the year so far. 

The Martian is based on a popular book written by Andy Weir. During a mission on Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a storm and is left behind by his crew (Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, and Aksel Hennie). Using his intelligence and some supplies, Mark must struggle to survive on this dangerous planet and find a way to signal to Earth that he's alive. 

A lot of comparisons have been made to Gravity and yes, there are some similarities. But what surprised me with The Martian was that , unlike Gravity, it's really funny at times. I found myself laughing quite a bit. Another way it's different is you don't spend the whole movie with Matt Damon. You get to see what's happening on Earth as NASA tries to come up with a rescue mission as well as the crew who feels horrible for leaving him behind. 

Director Ridley Scott has created a visually stunning movie. Because the showtime worked out better, I ended up seeing in this in 2D. So I can't comment on the 3D. Just know that if you decide to see it in 2D it still looks amazing. 

Ridley has also put together a great cast. Of course a lot of this movie falls on Matt Damon's shoulders and boy does he pull it off. Which is no surprise to me since I've always been a big fan of his. The supporting cast does just as good a job and has a lot of chemistry. 

There's a lot of scientific talk and while I didn't understand it half the time, I was never bored. Those nearly two and a half hours just seemed to fly by. 

I was all set to give this movie a perfect rating but the more I thought about it, I do have one small complaint. Aside from a few moments, you never got the sense that Mark was in any real danger. He's able to come up with solutions to his problems almost too easily. It's nothing that should stop you from seeing the movie though. 

The Martian is an interesting, dramatic, and humorous movie that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you're into these types of movies I highly recommend it. 

My Rating: 9/10