Not Equal to the Hollywood Hype

Rating: 6/10 (4 December 2016)

If it's a cold rainy night and you have nothing to do, curl up with a bag of popcorn, and you'll find this film is an OK diversion, but if you're expecting the next Apollo 13, or Stanley Kubrick classic, you will be disappointed.
The basic plot is the typical adventure, action, suspense formula with rather predictable turns and barely enough of predicable problems which the scientists will have to solve just in the nick of time.
The real problems with The Martian are centered around the script and character development. The script could have been written by seventh graders who were given bonus points for trying to write as many cliché lines as possible. What's worse, is the fact that none of the characters including that of Matt Damon's have any real development as people with whom you can empathize. Good dram is always more than the actions of the plot. Good drama is about people and their relationships, conflicts, struggles, etc. We know nothing about these people and therefore can never develop the empathy necessary for good engaging drama.
Lots of great visuals, some bad disco music, and an OK story line.