Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2016)

Movie: The Martian(2015) Director: Ridley Scott
Left for dead on the red planet following a windstorm, botanist Mark Watney(Matt Damon) must hunker down for the long haul, knowing that any rescue mission is years away. Luckily, he is quite literally "the best botanist on the planet", and after declaring that he'll have to "science the s**t" out of his Robinson Crusoe situation, he discovers that it is indeed possible to grow potatoes in his own poo. This is just the first of many self-help survivalist discoveries that find Watney entertainingly facing up to the challenge of "not dying". Armed only with recordings of Happy Days and his captain's collection of old-school floor-fillers, this lonely guy pitches his skills against the inhospitable elements, counting the solar days ("sols") until help arrives even as mission control fight their own battles, practical and geopolitical.
The cinematography is so beautifully done that it provides the film with a fundamental documentary reality while also making a thing of great beauty. Extra attention is amply on display in all creative departments. The most fascinating thing about the film is how it leans into predictability rather than make a show of fighting it. Of all the stories you've seen about astronauts coping with the aftermath of disaster— including "Mission to Mars" and the visually superior and more aggressively melodramatic "Gravity," which is more of a self-help parable with religious overtones—"The Martian" is the most relaxed and funny, and maybe the warmest.
This science fiction is for sophisticated audiences and, as such, a fulfilling and satisfying experience. It is much better then what I expected. And it's a great movie, a classic by all means.