Loved the visuals and Matt.

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2016)

As expected with Ridley Scott films, the film itself is visually stunning. The landscape of Mars looks absolutely breathtaking, and the scenes aboard the Hermes and back on Earth are just as sharp in detail and scope. The way he chose to make this film made it almost seem like an exceptionally made biopic. Many times during this film, I legitimately believed that Mark Watney was a real, living person that was actually stranded on Mars for many months alone. It's Cast Away meets Apollo 13, and this marriage is crafted beautifully.
Matt Damon is absolutely brilliant in this film. He plays Watney with so much optimism that it actually makes the depressing aspect of the film not as depressing for me. However, when he has to put on his dramatic chops in certain scenes, he truly commits to the drama of the situation, and that right there is true Ridley Scott suspense for you. The supporting cast, everyone involved, all do great work as well. Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, particularly Chiwetel Ejiofor. He is one of the best actors working today, and this movie and 12 Years a Slave shows how far he's come.
The most surprisingly element about this movie though was the screenplay. The film is hilarious in some parts, in fact I'd argue that it's funnier than most comedies that have come out this year. What makes to movie unique to me was Watney's optimistic point of view. He believes that he isn't going to die on Mars, and this transforms this rather depressing situation into something comical instead. But when you really think about it, this is a very personal film about some people coming together to save somebody. That's it. And in today's world, it's nice to hear an story about people coming together to save one of their own.