Five Word Review: Hilarious, Emotionally Fulfilling, Thoroughly Entertaining

Rating: 9/10 (13 October 2015)

Based on Andy Weir's best-selling 2011 book, Ridley Scott's newest film stars Matt Damon at the head of an all-star cast featuring the likes of Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty,) Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave,) Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom,) and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids.) The premise concerns astronaut Mark Watney, who is accidentally stranded on Mars after the rest of his crew believes him dead during a storm.
Having been rather disappointed with the latest offerings of Alien/Gladiator director Scott, after the stodgy misfires that were The Counsellor (2013) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014,) I was suspicious going into The Martian, which had been eliciting rave review from various critics prior to my viewing it. And the result was highly enjoyable. Where The Martian succeeds is, despite its 141 minute runtime, keeping the audience comprehensively entertained over the whole period, whether through the razor-sharp, unexpectedly hilarious script (credit where credit is due to Weir's book, which I'm definitely going to read) or the marvellous special effects and Mars scenery, or the real-feeling human emotion of the piece. The latter is mainly down to Damon's spectacular performance (easily his best since Invictus, 2009, maybe even his best since Good Will Hunting, 1997) as the astronaut in the worst position imaginable, desperately maintaining a positive attitude despite all the odds being against him. Damon expertly conveys Watney's emotional range, from his positive, sardonic usual self to the terror that inevitably crops up, but with the astronaut's determination not to let it get to him; not to give up.
The rest of the cast is fantastic, especially Chastain as she portrays Watney's commander, guilt-stricken that she left him behind, and Jeff Daniels, once again displaying how adept he is at both drama and comedy, as he plays the man who has make the tough calls and take all the flak for it. The visual effects are, as previously mentioned, flawless, with the Mars environment seeming real, the bleak loneliness showing amongst the landscape's harsh but astounding beauty. The soundtrack is similarly great; the cheesy disco themes all Watney has to survive on and proving an apt metaphor for staying positive in his dire situation (I won't be getting David Bowie's 'Starman' out of my head for a while.) One of the best things about this film is the humour. Damon has his afore-mentioned ability to switch between pathos and note-perfect delivery of hilarious one-liners (I hope to see more Matt Damon in comedy,) while Ejiofor, Wiig and Sean Bean, as another NASA employee, all have their moments to shine - watch out for Bean's involvement in a Lord of the Rings reference. Donald Glover is a wonderful surprise in a role which allows him to do his best Troy- Barnes-As-Abed impression and getting some good laughs, while Kate Mara, Michael Peña and Benedict Wong also deserve recognition among the massive cast.
The Martian isn't perfect; while they're all huge fun to watch, the characters do suffer from a lack of character development - Damon's funny yet emotional performance can be lauded but it remains rather unrealistic for his character to stay so infectiously positive (most of the time) in his situation, and none of the other characters, perhaps due to the huge amount of supporting characters, have much chance to be developed. But The Martian is a triumph nonetheless. I expected a stodgy, boringly dramatic story of one man's survival, like a less intense Gravity on Mars, but what I got was a top-notch sci-fi dramedy with wit, heart and thrills. That'll teach me not to read the book. This is for me the second-best film of 2015 so far, after Inside Out. 90/100