The promise of the first ten minutes was thrown away in this overly long film.

Rating: 6/10 (18 January 2016)

The promise of the first ten minutes was thrown away in this overly long film.
I loved the initial ten minutes which set up the film nicely, but after that, it dragged to a predictable point and was very lame by the end. It's is smart in terms of setup and the whole creation of Mars, but it's lame in the screenplay and added uncalled for points.
Certainly, it brought out of the best of Matt Damon, the leading man. But, I am not so sure that it brought the best in others too. The supporting cast was just doing their part and they did not enthuse me much.
The special effects were amazing, given the budget and the director Ridley Scott who was a proved Sci-fi master. Thanks to Ridley as he added some drama and fun. Else, this would have just been another survival story. The humor in this film is surely commendable.
Also, there is very little science jargon in this, it helps a layman understand. Unlike Interstellar which had too much of science jargon, that made it abstruse.
The Martian keeps the dialogue simple and relatable which for sure is nice. My biggest qualm is the length of the film, which could have been trimmed easily by 20 minutes. Other than this, I am fine with most of what I saw. Indeed happy in parts too.
A 3/5 for a certainly good film, that could have been so much better. Perhaps one viewing is recommended if not a repeat watch.