Fun, Crowd-Pleasing Sci-Fi

Rating: 8/10 (23 October 2015)

Astronaut Mark Watney is on Mars with his crew. After being injured during a powerful storm, his crew, thinking him dead, leaves him behind. Watney wakes up, and after removing the object lodged in his body, assesses the situation. His chances of survival are low, but he is determined to pull through against all odds.
I had heard a lot about how funny the film was, but I didn't find it THAT funny. Sure, there were some decent humorous lines, but I was a bit underwhelmed with them. Other people in my theater didn't seem to share my views, though. Donald Glover's character, Rich Purnell, seemed too over the top and out of place in the movie. Also, I thought more of the science should have been explained. At one point, Watney communicates with NASA through a camera pointing at signs in base 16. I understand base 16, but I didn't understand how the camera was being controlled to communicate with the numbers and letters. I wish the movie would have explained this better. Instead-- and maybe I'm wrong-- it seemed like it was glossed over because they assume no one really care HOW it works, just that it works. I had heard that the book contained a lot of clever science that was fully explained. I haven't read the book, so I don't know if that's true, but it still seemed like the movie could have used more science. Also, the movie's poster is pretty bad. It's just a close up of Matt Damon's phrase with the tagline "Bring Him Home." When I first heard of this movie, I didn't expect him to come home. I thought the movie would be darker and about him trying to survive knowing he can't. I'm not disappointed that it wasn't like that, but I don't think the poster should make it so obvious that he'll be rescued.
Thinking back on this movie, I think of it as less enjoyable than it really was. I'm not sure why, and watching clips of it, I remember how suspenseful and entertaining it was. Some awkward humor aside, I had a lot of fun watching this movie, but I still think it's being a bit overrated. It's being heralded as the best movie of the year, and I just don't think it has the greatness to make it a classic. For a comparison, I thought The Martian was more "fun" to watch than Ex Machina, but Ex Machina ended up having a more daring story.
8/10