Saving Matt Damon... again!

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2016)

Super-science is the name of the game in this drama regarding a Botanist who was left behind during a super storm on planet Mars in 2035. Astronaught Mark Watney wakes up after the dust settles and finds himself abandoned by the Aries III crew with no means of communication, a decreasing supply of food and water, and the harsh environment of the Mars surface on the outside of his surface pod. Watney drums up the courage to continue surviving despite bodily injury, starvation, dehydration, and several near death experiences.
The scope and scale of this movie is pretty amazing. So much so that it inspired one of those "War of the Worlds" moments in modern society. Several articles were published in American newspapers about movie goers who either believed they were watching a dramatization of real events or a documentary. Yes, some people actually believed we went to Mars because of this film, but that isn't the impressive part.
What i really enjoyed about this movie wasn't the acting to be honest. I really didn't find any moment where I felt Watney to be in any real danger, and you somehow always know he'll be okay. His confidence brings him a long way through this sci-fi drama, and of course I'm no scientist so it's hard to refute any of his survival techniques (seriously though... a plastic door and some duct tape?). Never the less, the thing that is by far the most outstanding achievement of this film, is the use of real organizations, technologies, and creating an amazing setting on the surface of mars. I couldn't believe how beautiful everything looked, and was constantly impressed with the effort this director took to make it somewhat believable. Enough to fool a few anyway.
An excellent weekend movie, and be prepared for a lot of Matt Damon screen time. But that's to be expected in a movie that features and actor that has been rescued more times than a cat from a tree.
7/10