A fine future tale of survival, but a pales imitation of the book.

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2015)

Coincidentally I found Andy Weir's book "The Martian" without realizing that the movie was coming to the theater. So I read the book, which I truly enjoyed as a science-loving and sci-fi-loving enthusiast. In the book the main vehicle for Mark Watney's inner dialog was his journal, and the plot is propelled by his need to survive. The scientific explanations are credible and detailed, and his journey fraught with peril and struggle. It is a Jack London story of the (future) modern age, and for me one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while.
Upon completing the book I went to the movies. Overall I give the rendering a good rating: Matt Damon is a good choice for Watney's character, and the cinematography and CG is mostly stunning. My caveat is that I had to augment the movie with the knowledge I had from the book to understand and enjoy it. In fact, I would advise anyone interested in the movie to read the book first to fill in the gaping holes in the plot that make the movie too much Hollywood styling and less science and survival.
A few key problems. In the book NASA and the other crew don't enter the story for a considerable amount of time. The sense of isolation and the need for Watney to survive dominates, and the reader's attraction to Watney quickly develops. In the movie the mix of situations breaks that isolation, so that we see Watney sometimes struggling, but never feel the danger or sense of time the book conveys. To fit the movie into a typical 2 hour format a great deal of the book had to be cut; I suspect Scott would have made a 4 hour movie if allowed, and I'm sure much was on the cutting room floor.
The worst of the cuts is the loss of Watney's journey to the Schiaparelli Crater. In the book Watney again loses contact with NASA, and must use his own ingenuity to survive. Again isolated, he solves problem after problem, including deducing and resolving a dust storm that would have made his journey impossible, and a horrible entry into the Schiaparelli Crater that nearly kills him. In the movie when he finally is rescued the crew cut away his suit to reveal a myriad of injuries that are never properly explained... unless you had read the book.
It's a pity to gloss over the foundation of the tone of the story, but I suppose it's understandable that a movie of this scale and with Hollywood money had to conform to convention. But it's a pale imitation of the book, albeit a beautiful feast for the eyes and a fine story of survival. Just nowhere near as impressive as the book. So go read the book!