A movie about some astro guy cracking jokes

Rating: 3/10 (16 October 2015)

I've read the book and it's indeed not about a poor, lonely soul lost on Mars, who becomes a philosopher about death and life and is fighting depressions all the time, only getting some kind of inner relief at the end. It is not like Cast Away" with Tom Hanks nor anything like Interstellar" which has a whole different story.
It's about high tech and science, it's about a tough astronaut whose only goal is to solve the next problem, who is absolutely focusing on solutions to survive as long as he can. There are moments where he is hapless and desperate but he's got a kind of stubbornness, a special kind of will to survive that drives him through this misery. He jokes, he thinks of trivial stuff that helps him keeping his mind intact. You could say he actually denies in some way that he's the only guy on an entire planet millions of miles away from home. But the situation forces him to fight against physics and technology all the time, he just has got no time to think about to much.
What you get as the reader then is a spectacular story of how he manages it – against all odds. With his sheer will, his unique personality, the training and knowledge and with the help of smart, brave and very noble people. This makes this story indeed look very positive in the outcome, it describes an almost impossible effort and shows – so do I think personally – the best of us as human beings. Mark Watney survives – with luck, of course, but mainly because neither he ever gave up nor the people on earth. The climax in this plot was the most thrilling thing I've read for years. I had to shed a tear, it just blew my mind. At the end everything went to an extreme fight humans versus the universe" which will be won by incredible smartness, braveness and by big pumping hearts in the breasts of the protagonists. In the aftermath I think it's even more than just another survival story", it's about how far we went and how clever we've become in the great struggle of life, especially if you don't forget how much obstacles we are still throwing in our own way. It's a very utopian view, yes, but one who touches your heart if you have one.
The movie captured only a tiny fraction of this, unfortunately. It's a funny movie about some astro guy cracking jokes on a funky planet not far away, uhm, and some of his buddies, who help him out. Of course he survives, what else. It's Matt Damon, our hero. No explanations needed, it's all good. Thank you for watching.