Matt Damon's trip to Mars is a FANTASTIC lesson on self-belief, hope and humanity

Rating: 10/10 (30 September 2015)

The Martian had three huge benchmarks to look up to when it comes space missions gone wrong – Ron Howard's Apollo 13, Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity and Christopher Nolan's Interstellar. Though there may be a few who may argue otherwise, The Martian is on par with these films in three levels – the technical aspects, visual effects and the performances. The Martian marks the return of form for Ridley Scott, after two middling efforts. He never loses the grip on the narrative, even when the film skids in a couple of scenes. He is ably supported by the writing skills of Drew Goddard (whose Cabin in the Woods still enthralls me) and the brilliant cinematography by Dariusz Wolski. The film is sprinkled with light humour as well as some deeply engaging scenes, which makes the runtime of nearly two and a half hours pass by easily. The climax sequence is truly harrowing, and the first thing I checked once I came out of the theatre is to see If I still have any nails left to chew!
Even the background score is apt and enriching to the experience. And of course, the visual effects are mind- blowing. Yes, Interstellar and Gravity still scores over in this aspect, but The Martian is no pushover, thank you!
But the biggest reason we are ready to invest in The Martian is because of the fantastic performances by the cast. In the lead is the Martian himself, Matt Damon. No less a hero than his macho Jason Bourne, Matt Damon makes for a believable protagonist whose fictional tale for survival is truly inspiring. Even when he cracks a joke every now and then, his eyes and body language make sure we can never make light of his pitiable plight. He is ably supported by a brilliant plethora of cast playing some wonderful characters. They include the steely crew commander played by Jessica Chastain and her motley crew of Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Jeff Daniels's play-by-the-book NASA director, Sean Bean's empathetic flight leader, Kristen Wiig's bemused NASA public affairs agent etc. Everyone is great, but if I have to pick up my favourite characters, it would be Chiwetel Ejiofor's sardonic but helpful mission director Vincent Kapoor (wonder why they didn't rope in Irrfan Khan!) and Donald Glover in his small role of carefree astrodynamics scientist.
If you are a fan of sci-fi thrillers like Interstellar and love special effects, The Martian should definitely be your watch- list this week. Even if you are not, just watch the film to learn how not to lose hope even in the bleakest of the situations, and that humanity still survives in the best of us. This trip to Mars is totally worth that huge IMAX ticket price!