Directed by : Ridley Scott
Written by : Drew Goddard
Starring : Matt Damon, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña,
Release Date : September 30, 2015
"The Martian" is a movie about survival. Usually in most movies, that means it's going to be bleak and cynical. Not this movie though! It's very much a crowdpleaser and an inspiring story about an astronaut stranded on Mars, with the nearest help literally years away from him. Along with the survival angle of the premise, the other aspect is about the people who desperately need to help rescue him. It's always heartwarming to watch a story that has faith in the good of humanity.
There are other common themes in the movie. It's also about optimism, patience, perseverance, and most important of all, it's about science. To quote Astronaut Mark Watney when he realized what he needed to do to survive, he said that he's "going to have to science the shit out of this." There is a lot of science talk here, to the point that the exciting reveals and plot points for this story are when people figure out a scientific way to solve a problem. It's actually fun learning things here.
This movie does have an all star cast, with a very entertaining performance by Matt Damon as Watney, whose character is humorous enough to keep the levity alive in what is technically a very dire situation. The story also follows two other sets of characters, from the Earth side of things that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeff Daniels, plus the rest of the astronauts that are still in space which includes Jessica Chastain and Michael Pena. All of them are just fantastic.
Based on the novel by Andy Weir, "The Martian" might just truly be deserving of the best picture of the year award. This is another strong screenplay work by Drew Goddard, and probably the best directing work by Ridley Scott in a decade.
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