"Castaway" in space meets "Gravity": "Luckily I'm a botanist!"

Rating: 6/10 (3 October 2015)

"The Martian" (2015 release; 141 min.) brings the story of Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon). As the movie opens, we are informed this is Acidalia Planitia, a plain on Marxs, and we see Mark and the rest of the crew picking up rock and sand samples. Then a sandstorm quickly moves in, forcing the crew to abandon the mission and escape. In the confusion, Mark is hit by debris and presumed dead. Except that he isn't. Mark realizes that the next mission to Mars won't get there until 4 years from now. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first, this is the latest movie from director Scott Ridley, hardly a novice in sci-fi movies (Blade Runner, Alien, Prometheus). Here, he tackles the big screen adaptation of the popular book by Andy Weir. I did not read the book, so I cannot comment how closely the movie tracks the book. Second, seemingly no expenses were spared in the production of the film, and much of it is just eye-candy. Third, the parallels between this and other movies are so obvious: the initial two-thirds of the movie is basically "Castaway" in space, as we follow Mark in his quest to survive until the rescue comes, and the last third is even more blatant in going where "Gravity" has gone before. Fourth, kudos to Matt Damon for bringing a heartfelt performance. But what about Kristen Wiig? She looks lost and unsure why she's even there (compare this to her brilliant performance in the recent "Diary of a Teenage Girl"). And didn't Jessica Chastain just do another space-travel movie? (Yes, 2014's "Interstellar"). Fifth, there is a very nice orchestral score, courtesy of composer Harry Gregson-Willians. And Jessica Chastain's character loves 1970s disco, so we get a bunch of true-and-tried (or is that true-and-tired?) classics such as Turn the Beat Around, Hot Stuff, Rock the Boat, Love Train, and, yes, I Will Survive. Last, this film is rated PG-13. Not that it stops Mark from dropping the F bomb on several occasion (I thought the F bomb automatically earns a movie the R rating?).
"The Martian" opened nationwide this weekend and the matinée screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was absolutely jam-packed. The audience loved this movie. As much as I was ready to also love it, I can't help but feel let down by the lack of originality, in particular in the latter part of the movie. It's like watching "Gravity" again, but not as good. I encourage you to check out "The Martian" for yourself and draw your own conclusions.