Director: Ridley Scott
Written By: Drew Goddard (screenplay), Andy Weir (book)
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiif, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Machenzie Davis and Donald Glover.
Let me start by saying I’ve been in trouble with a now ex-boyfriend for stating, ‘I love Matt Damon!’
I’m sure most would agree he’s just such a loveable guy (think about his previous films, Good Will Hunting, all the Bourne films, The Departed… Well he played the bad arse in that one, but still, a bloody good film!), and I think this inherent adoration for Matt Damon is why, The Martian, is a success. If we didn’t like the character, Mark Watney, we wouldn’t care if this astronaut got home or not.
The story is set on Mars where an unexpected severe storm forces the team to abort their mission early and return to Earth. Thinking Mark Watney is dead, the team leave him behind only to discover, through much techie innovation on the part of both NASA and the astronaut, Mark, that he’s still alive.
Who doesn’t like a good survival story, eh?
The cinematography is very classy indeed. I just had to go watch in 3D and was rewarded with vast, burnt sunsets and expanses of stars.
The soundtrack was upbeat. A highlight for me watching the character Mark get his boogie on to some disco in spite of himself.
And I loved the fact there was some believable science and technology in the film.
The story had its tense moments but was fairly predictable.