The Martian Review
Review by Austin Clemen
The Martian is a movie directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon that is based on a book by Andy Weir. The premise of the story is that a group of astronauts on a mission to Mars have to leave because of a major storm, but one of the team members, Matt Damon’s character Mark Watney, presumably dies because of some debris hitting him and puncturing his suit. The rest of the team has to make the decision to leave him behind. Then, surprise! Mark Watney isn’t dead. He survived the storm and now has to struggle to survive on a desolate planet with super limited supplies until another team can come and get him, or rather, if another team can come to get him. All the while, NASA is trying to figure out a way to get back to either save him or retrieve his body.
I thought the movie is both brilliantly acted and brilliantly directed. The chemistry between the cast members is so thick that it felt as though their characters were who they actually were. That was a difficult task to do, as a vast majority of the movie, the main crew and Mark Watney were separated, but they had to make you believe that the team was all super close and that Watney was the heart of the team, even though he wasn’t with them. Also, Mark Watney’s overwhelming optimism and perseverance through all the crap that gets thrown his way is infectious. It pulls you in and makes you go “Yeah! You CAN do this, Mark Watney! We all believe in you!”
Another thing, The Martian is really funny. It’s not a comedy, but it’s probably one of the funniest movies I’ve seen this year. Everyone in the theater simultaneously broke out in laughter throughout the entire movie. Now, I went into this movie without knowing much and didn’t have the highest expectations, as I hadn’t read the book and didn’t read or watch any reviews. I loved the movie. One of the best this year. The only two somewhat major complaints I have with the movie are that there’s a segment toward the end of the movie that takes place on Earth which I feel could be shortened to make the movie flow a little better and there could also be less F-bombs. You could take them out or change them with a different word and still get the same effect. All in all, however, if you love movies, especially ones like Cast Away or Apollo 13, and didn’t read the book you’ll love this movie. If you read the book, you’ll love this movie. I’ve been told a few things have been changed to fit the movie, but it is still extremely enjoyable and loyal to the book by many friends who saw the movie after reading the book.
10 out of 10, I’d see this movie again. For an actual rating of the movie, though, I’d give it a 9.5 out of 10.