REVIEW: The Martian (12A)

THE MARTIAN is Matt Damon’s latest blockbuster directed, no less, by the legend that is Ridley Scott. Not to be confused with yesteryear classic My Favourite Martian or a male friend named Martin, The Martian is a disaster movie with a difference. One part Castaway and two parts Gravity, The Martian tells the story of a squad of astronauts who when encountering difficulties in a manned mission to Mars, evacuate to return to Earth. As evacuation procedures are put into place, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left for dead when he is hit by some debris of part of their equipment. Reluctantly abandoning the search for him to save the rest, Commander Lewis (the luscious Jessica Chastain) sends the crew home to safety.

Not long after Watney awakens to find out that he is still alive and alone on the planet and it will be four long years before help arrives. If he wants to survive he will need to “science the shit” out of Mars and solve each problem as it arises and does so in an almost MacGyver like fashion.

The Martian is such a well made film with emotion, great humour and arresting visuals. As the ensemble cast – themselves of stellar pedigree – assemble on Earth to try and save him, Watney alone is played brilliantly by Matt Damon. He has only his charm and the bleak red desertlike landscape to play with and coupled with an ongoing disgruntlement for Cmdr Lewis’s penchant for disco, the solo sections of him on Mars are as amusing as they are brilliant. The cast on Earth rearing up to save them include  Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sebastian Stan, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean. I was expecting Sean Bean to die, but luckily he stays within an office environment so in this movie he stays very much alive, much to my happiness. The Earth sequences are a great contrast to the barrenness of mars.

The Martian has a cool disco soundtrack which strangely goes with the story and the quest for one man to survive takes this idea to the limit. Coupled with awesome cinematography and top actors this film is a must see. It’s on for a while but it is great and deserves all the credit it gets.

POPSCORE: 9.5/10 

What am I talking about? The Martian film

Where can I find out more? http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-martian

If you like this try: Gravity, Interstellar (especially since Damon features in that), Guardians of the Galaxy, Castaway, Apollo 13

Anything else?

This film is based on the book The Martian by Andy Weir - something I think I would quite like to read!