Gripping near-future SF

Rating: 9/10 (12 October 2015)

This is a film that quite closely follows the book upon which it's based. Andy Weir's novel is a pretty straightforward thing: It tells an exciting, gripping story in plain prose, characterized by short sentences and an uncomplicated structure - the fanciest thing about it is the interweaving of chapters containing the stranded astronaut's logs and "meanwhile on Earth" chapters. The story progresses at a steady pace and the scientific background isn't bogging it down. Well, Ridley Scott's film does the same thing. The visuals are also nicely done, with convincing Mars landscapes and technology. It's a rather "realistic" kind of science fiction adventure, doing fine without too esoteric technology or visions (no aliens here, no wormholes, faster-than-light-travel or the like, and it's set not very far in the future). In fact, I *like* SF with aliens (including Scott's "Alien", of course!), but it's a refreshingly different approach. I saw the 3D version which uses 3D in a rather low-key manner and doesn't try to overwhelm you. So, it's enhancing immersion without being as obtrusive and dizzying as many other 3D movies.