The Martian (2015) Reviews

• Entertaining and slick enough to make you go with it

  bob the moo2016-07-02

  I heard a lot about this film regarding its scientific validity as a piece of fiction. Perhaps as a result of this I assumed that the film would be a dry affair – an impression sort of confirmed by the longer than normal running time. As it happens, this is not the case at all because The Martian has much more in common with the entertaining blockbuster that the starry cast list and presentation suggest it will be. The story wears its science very much on its sleeve, but yet makes it accessible and fun – with the slick presentation making it so. As a result everything seems to be explained with everyday objects, and even the most complex principles are presented in simple terms (references to Iron Man for instance). As a result the film gets to have its cake and eat it – although the film is helped by the knowledge of a lot of this being possible (eg hitting a point near Pluto recently with very tight tolerances on a journey of years). The film itself doesn't really play up the drama in a heavy way, but rather does enough to invest the viewer in it without making it too much of a downer or serious. The soundtrack is hugely upbeat, the content is mostly light in tone, and the science is delivered in a very user-friendly fashion – essentially in the service of the tone and the entertainment value, nothing more than this. The starry cast add to this feeling, and use their screen presence well. Damon is consistently likable, which is just as well since he is alone in the vast majority of his scenes. The ensemble cast has a lot of depth to it, all of which are solidly watchable – Chastain, Wiig, Daniels, Eiofor, Peña, Bean, and so on. The Chinese aspects of the plot serves as another reminder that this film is a blockbuster out to make money, but it doesn't seem too out of place. Technically it looks great and it impressive how convincing the surface of Mars looks. In the end we get to the fist-pumping mission control scenes that we all knew were coming, but along the way the film is slickly packaged and entertaining as a result; even if the oft-mentioned scientific validity of it all is not something it ever seems concerned with itself.

• More marshmallow than Martian!

  flickernatic2015-10-12

  The crew of an American base on Mars are forced to make an emergency departure leaving one crew-member behind presumed dead. But he is alive! Can the stranded astronaut find a way of communicating his plight to those on Earth and survive while he awaits rescue? A fairly standard 'castaway' plot but one which offers many dramatic possibilities. Unfortunately few of these are realised in this pedestrian movie which fails to generate any significant dramatic tension. This is partly because the characterisation is thin but also because the challenges the stranded astronaut faces seem to be so easily overcome. Starvation? Grow potatoes. Punctured space-helmet? Sticky tape. Mars rover vehicle lacking power? Wire up a few solar cells. Communications equipment destroyed? Motor over to a handy Mars lander. We never sense that the 'Martian' (Matt Damon) is in a desperate, mind- and body-sapping struggle against the odds (conveniently he is a botanist). Damon effectively portrays the 'Martian' as a likable guy but the problem is how to fill the two hours of the movie that remain after he is stranded? When a character is alone and unable to communicate it needs something exceptional to keep us glued to the screen. Maybe what's going on back home will do it. Not really because the cast of characters there are verging on cardboard cut-outs. The returning crew? Likewise. And the script is written on the assumption that the audience is a little dumb, e.g. A: It will be 500 Sols (Martian days) before we can rescue him. B: But his food will run out in 300 sols. C: So he'll die before we get there. Indeed! And so may we. The movie has some good FX and the Martian landscape looks convincing. But there's nothing exceptional here to compensate for the lack of an effectively told story. In essence this is an American feel-good fantasy film, celebrating ideals of technical omnipotence, racial harmony, gender equality and international collaboration (with those cool Chinese guys and gals). If only it were so. No wonder the credits rolled to the tune of The O' Jays singing 'Love Train'. School-kids will probably join in! But, to quote Sam Goldwyn, 'Include me out!' (Viewed at the Odeon, Warrington, 06 October 2015)

• Expected more

  slingeraap2015-10-08

  I am a bit of nerd of this kind of realistic science fiction movies and therefore I had high expectations of this movie. I regret to say I was disappointed. The movie tells the story of how the main character struggles to survive on Mars and how the space agencies work to get them back. But I was missing the emotions, the human touch. The main character never displays any signs of loneliness, despair or fear. He is more like "oh, looks like I'm stuck on Mars, let's grow potatoes". He makes a one- off reference to his parents in an electronic communication, but nowhere in the movie is it made clear what his main drive is to want to return to Earth. It appears as nothing ties him there. Maybe the directors wanted to avoid the cliché of the eight months pregnant and terminally ill wife eagerly awaiting her husband's return from a dangerous mission, but even a cliché had been better than nothing. His character is also too flat. The only character trait that is highlighted slightly in the movie is that he may be a bit too smug about himself. Nothing else to make me identify or sympathize with him. To be honest, I couldn't have cared less if he had not survived. The Mars landscape is beautifully rendered en very credible with dust clouds and all. This is the main attraction of the movie. The main problem that there is nothing novel about this movie. There have been better movies for every aspect of the film: Human aspect/psychology of being marooned in a strange place: Cast Away did it so much better; set in space: Matt Damon's role in Interstellar was more credible than his performance here. Space action scenes: Gravity had me on the edge of my seat Ground control scenes: Apollo 13 already set the standard In summary, the movie is a beautiful, but hollow shell.

• pleasantly surprised

  whammo-793462016-01-17

  Seeing that the movie was over 2 hrs long, and knowing that the person was going to be stuck on the planet by their self for the majority, I didn't have high hopes for it. Usually these types of movies are boring. Not a lot of writers can pull this off. This movie was really good tho. A group of us watched it and really enjoyed. There were some things they failed to explain, that we collectively came up with our own answer for. Other than that, it was great. I never felt bored or left waiting for more. Overall, I feel it was very well written, produced and acted. Well worth the watching. Some people on here have griped that it was 'predictable', but then, most movies are. Who ever watched Star Wars with the thought that Vader would ultimately win??? Who ever watched Star Trek thinking that Kirk wouldn't find a way to save the day? And frankly, who grew up watching Scooby Doo thinking that someone would actually kill Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne or Velma???

• Not a Ridley Scott Classic

  rishimon2015-10-12

  I can't really believe that I just finished watching a Ridley Scott science fiction movie and feeling this low, this one never felt like anywhere close to any of his classics. This is just nothing but a typical Hollywood s***. Matt did a poor performance as a character who is caught in a life and death situation. He is not scared or emotional but instead he keeps throwing Hollywood typical punch dialogues on your face like an Avenger hero when you are expecting Science. A make-up artist or a sound engineer from the set of "Big bang theory" would have written better science script and dialogues. For me there are plenty of "WTF" or "Seriously?" moments in this movie and I wonder what happened to one of the favorite directors of all time. Also repetitive high five/triumph scenes where we don't feel anything. To brief: Drag, bad drama, insensitive emotional scenes, poor acting, very less science, predictable and not at all funny punch dialogues! Just YIFY it, don't buy!