The Martian is a must watch

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2020)

The Martian (2015) directed by Ridley Scott, is an adaptation of the novel by Andy Weir. The film stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney; Matt Damon's portrayal of the character was excellent as he clearly depicted the mental struggle of being left on a planet alone. You could see how Watney felt, the hope when things went right and the pain when everything was stacked against him, this added to the film by making the character multidimensional and truly adding a human aspect to space. The film also looks at many aspects of space travel, including the political and corporate side of space travel by showing how the commissions and the people at NASA dealt with finding out Watney was alive and how to move forward. This made the film even better as it allowed multiple aspects of the story to be examined and flushed out. The movie was very strong in how it showed the story from all angles, you could see Watney and his struggle, the crews processing the fact that Watney was alive and how NASA and the world dealt with the news of Watney. The film also excelled in its use of humor, the humor provided great contrast to the harsh reality of the film and really helped the film. There were also beautiful cinematic shots of mars that added to the film and provided great imagery as there was stark emptiness to mirror how alone Watney was, but also add a bit of irony as the beautiful place is very treacherous. The use of different camera shots added to the film, from the long cinematic views of mars, then the helmet cams, and the video "diary", all of these different techniques made the film come to life. All in all, the Martian features great acting, stunning cinematic work along with an excellent plot and is a must watch.