A different experience than the book

Rating: 6/10 (31 December 2015)

I enjoyed the book, The Martian a great deal. It was tense from the opening moment and never let up. It gave a clear and believable sense of what it might be like to be alone on a distant planet. Truly alone. The industriousness of Watney was clear from the outset and his character caused you to root for him. But more than anything, he was definitely alone.
The movie never gave us a true sense of his aloneness. Perhaps they felt it would be too hard for the masses to follow, or would appear too much like Gravity, but in the end the story lost its soul because of it.
There was no explanation of why the hatch blew in the movie leaving viewers with a sense only that something went wrong, but with no idea of the fact that it had weakened with unpredictable overuse.
The trip to Ares 4 was fabulously presented in the book with many challenges including a dust storm that was life threatening. Nothing in the movie resembled this, making his trip to Ares 4 seem easily attainable.
It was a fine movie, but whoever was in charge of the screenplay really did an injustice to the author of the story.
I would recommend the book for anyone who enjoyed this movie. It will feel familiar, but will also give you a new view of the situation.