Matt Damon's stuck in space again

Rating: 7/10 (28 October 2015)

Well, that was a lot of fun. You can't really fault The Martian on pure entertainment value, and its optimism is infectious. Personally I would have loved to see more development of the secondary characters, and even of Watney himself. I wanted to find out more about his background and his life back on Earth – but maybe the whole point is that we don't? This film gets extra kudos for its portrayal of women in science and engineering jobs. And for casting Sean Bean, entirely – or so I'd like to think – for the purpose of a delightful Lord of the Rings meta-joke.
Read more of my thoughts at filmblog.damaris.org/the-martian