Smart and Funny

Rating: 9/10 (25 February 2016)

Matt Damen provided a great balance of clever humour and scientific fact. I was afraid that this movie would be depressing, due to the nature of being stuck in a desolate and hostile environment for so long, however Damen managed to keep the mood serious without crossing the line into stressing out the audience. The amount of failure and hurdles that Damen experienced in the move was reflective of how science actually happens. The fact that Damen's struggles often happened on screen is something that provides a sort of realism that is lacking in most sci-fi movies. Hopefully the industry will take note from the success of The Martian and make an effort to craft more realistic portrayals of the scientific process in the future. If I had kids, this would be the exact type of movie that I would want them to see.