More humour than I expected in a fine film

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2016)

There was controversy at the Golden Globes last month when 'The Martian' was nominated in the 'Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical' category, and in fact went on to win it. By that stage I hadn't seen it but had been told by many people (host Ricky Gervais included) that this was an absurd category for it to be placed in. So I went into the film expecting to find a deadly serious tone, however what I found was instead justification for it being put in that category. Amost all of Matt Damon's scenes are like a little comedy skit on his part. The rest of the cast play it very seriously but he is undoubtedly the star and if his scenes are all that way I see no issue with labeling it, at least partly, as a comedy.
Damon has in fact been nominated for an Academy Award for Actor in a Lead Role for his performance here. He was personally helped by the category choice at the Golden Globes when he was able to take home the award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. On that occasion his competition was almost non-existent. Sadly at the Oscars it will be a different story, no one is taking that award off Leonardo DiCaprio. Damon is impressive in his role though, he has an ability to be charming without ever coming across cocky or arrogant. He's the guy you want to root for and thus was perfectly cast in 'The Martian'.
The film has also been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Again I would call it almost a 0% chance of winning but that shouldn't take away from a well deserved nomination. For a film about a guy on a distant planet all by himself there is never a dull moment. Director Ridley Scott does a terrific job of pacing the film and the above average runtime of 144 minutes never drags. To me it felt like a cross between 'Armegaddon' and 'Cast Away'. All the elements of an epic blockbuster are there, while never forgetting about the emotional side of the characters and story. A well executed film that will be enjoyable for the entire spectrum of audience members.