Not exactly a psychological sci-fi thriller

Rating: 6/10 (5 October 2015)

The good: 3D has matured to where it enhances the film instead of being the main feature of it and The Martian is a good example of just that. It does not do it as well as Gravity, but it's close. You seldom get the feeling that the 3D actually consist of 2D layers between the foreground and the background, and objects don't too often fly towards you and out of the screen, thus breaking the immersion. All in all the images are really great. The movie is packed with beautiful landscapes and some enjoyable planetary shots. Moreover, the installations and space ships are actually convincing to a certain degree and don't break the realism too much, as often happens in this genre.It's well worth the cost of a visit to the movies or (later) your time in front of a good television just for the visuals.
The bad: First, what is up with the Chineese suddenly lagging 50 years behind in train technology? Sure the U.S has the upper hand when it comes to space tech, but I'm not convinced that will last till 2035. Second, victory comes too cheap in this film. Third, I really wish the script had dived into the psychological tension of the main character's solitary confinement in space a lot more. There is really only a couple of times in the plot where you wonder for a quarter of a second whether our man can take it or not. Although it would have been deeply interesting, the movie never delves into one of the yet unsolved issues of space travel, namely how humans cope with them selves and their inner demons when they are out there alone. Instead it goes for a comic relief every 10 minutes and ends up becoming a sort of MacGyver in space. It makes for great, albeit shallow entertainment, but if you are looking for a psychological science fiction thriller you need to check elsewhere.