Superbly acted, stunning visuals but some silly dialogue.

Rating: 8/10 (14 February 2016)

The Martian is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain and Jeff Daniels. Set in 2036, The Martian centres on the story of Mark Watney, an astronaut presumed dead and abandoned on Mars after a violent storm separates him from his crew, forcing him to survive for up to four years on the surface of Mars with limited food rations and contact to Earth. The Martian certainly shines throughout and delivers a fun, intriguing and at times extremely tense sci-fi adventure, with many thought provoking ideas and scenarios presented throughout. It is also visually stunning and features perfect accompanying scores. However, my flaws with the film are mainly with the 'attempted comedy' dialogue. Far too often many characters were cracking jokes in life or death situations, destroying the tension and ruining the experience slightly. On more than one occasion the script came off as silly, childish and cringeworthy. I also felt there wasn't enough varying personality within the characters, with the exception of Sean Bean's performance, again this may hinder on the script as some of them come off as 'failed comedians' rather than top scientific astronomers. The Martian is still however superbly acted and following Damon's journey and the obstacles to he had to overcome was exciting and engaging. Overall, The Martian is a great sci-fi film with gorgeous visuals and special effects, brilliant, well-fitting scores and an engaging interesting plot with unique and revolutionary ideas. 8/10