Snappy dialogue and aesthetically-pleasing visuals elevate a predictable and sometimes silly story.

Rating: 7/10 (24 September 2018)

'The Martian (2015)' is neither a musical nor a comedy, though it's definitely a film with Matt Damon's face on the poster (behind a wall of text, of course, so that it fits in with all the other Damon/ Text-wall marketing). This space-based survival story strands its hero as far away from Earth as is plausibly possible in a pseudo science-fiction, but apparently more 'science-fact', picture and focuses on the ingenuity of humanity - or, rather, of a specific human - as good old-fashioned agriculture combines with modern day technology to bring life to even the most barren of places. The piece is pretty entertaining throughout, even if it is predictable and becomes downright silly towards its overblown finale. These issues dampen the sense of stakes somewhat, though individual sequences are still suspenseful, and reduce possible audience investment. Still, they don't eliminate the enjoyment that comes from the snappy dialogue, aesthetically-pleasing visuals and 'inspiring' central story. 7/10