Been there, seen that

Rating: 4/10 (19 January 2016)

I am mystified by the overwhelmingly positive reaction that this film received, not only among moviegoers but critics as well. To be sure, Matt Damon is his normally engaging self, to the point that, if it weren't for him, The Martian would be almost unbearably tedious.
Let's start with the fact that there is really no dramatic tension here whatsoever. Was the fact that the stranded astronaut would be heroically rescued in the last five minutes ever in the remotest doubt? This is a Hollywood movie, after all. Sure, there is the usual internal dissension - heartless management vs. compassionate colleagues. We know who is going to win that battle. There is Mark Watney's ongoing struggle to stay alive, through an increasingly unbelievable series of stratagems, despite things repeatedly blowing up around him, all the while making endearing wisecracks (for the most part to no one in particular).
The special effects are pretty good, though nothing that is much beyond what Kubrick was able to accomplish almost half a century ago.
The script has a few bright moments, but is so replete with clichés that it frequently verges on parody. The cheering crowds in Times, Trafalgar and Tiananmen Squares, the ubiquitous CNN news feed, the "unconventional" but brilliant young NASA engineer/math whiz who saves the day (along with the Chinese, this being 2015), the selfless, bantering and bonhomie among the properly gender-balanced crew of astronauts, the hard-ass "suit" who runs NASA and runs up against the "old guy" who has one last act of defiance left in him - and on and on and on. Really, there is not an interesting or nuanced plot twist or character among the lot.
I wanted to like this movie, mostly because, despite its thin story, Blade Runner still holds a special place in my heart. But I do now understand why Ridley Scott didn't get his Oscar nomination for best director.