Light hearted spacey fun, minus the aliens and a dash of drama

Rating: 10/10 (1 August 2019)

The film The Martian was adapted from the novel of the same name by Andy Weir. This film is placed at some point in the near future where humans have successfully landed on Mars. We join the film midway through the third manned mission to Mars. The crew is going about their tasks, you are given the feeling that they are excited yet settled into a normal routine of daily tasks. What we see of these tasks is short-lived however because a storm is moving in and the crew must act fast to escape. In the following frantic minutes, the crew attempts to salvage their work before take-off, however, as they move through the storm one of the crew is struck by debris and is lost in the dust of the storm. Without the time to search and the astronaut's life signs failing to report the crew launches in their vehicle to head home.
The theme throughout this movie is hope through cooperation, we begin to see this theme shortly after the crew escapes, as this is where the movie truly begins. We learn that our main character, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) did survive the storm, but now alone on Mars he must survive again with limited resources and knowing that it will be at least 4 years before help arrives. While we feel for the character initially being abandoned on a planet, it isn't long before NASA discovers that he is alive and work begins to save him.
This film overall is one of my favorites, I have watched it at least 5 times over the years and read the book multiple times as well. Matt Damon's portrayal of Mark Watney is a perfect fit, his mix of humor and emotion as he goes through his ordeal is captivating. All the actors/actresses in this film really were superb, it is one of those movies where you can tell that everything and everyone just clicked together to create something special.
There was a large cast behind this film but some of the highlights were Jeff Daniels as NASA Director Teddy Sanders, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor Director of Mars Missions, and Kristin Wiig who I am generally not a fan of for all her comedy movies but was great as NASA's Media Relations Director Annie Montrose. We follow these characters as they initially deal with the loss of Mark Watney and then work to save him once he is determined to be alive. The set design and sound are amazing, while Mars appears clearer then what we generally see in photos from our rovers I completely by what I see and hear. The technology in the movie seems futuristic yet attainable, nothing appears to be so advanced as to be not a reality within the next 20 years.
The music choice while not a personal favorite fits well into the movie and is used in multiple ways, as a running joke about bad taste in music, as a source of positivity and laughter to see Mark Watney listen and comment on the songs despite his situation, and as a source of hopefulness as we see people of different ethnicities, countries, and political influences put their difference aside to work toward the goal of saving one human. I will admit that I am a sucker for that last bit, this part of the movie and the beginning of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets both have scenes of selfless cooperation that really touches me.
If you are a fan of space movies minus the aliens and love disco music then this movie is for you, if you love Matt Damon then this movie is for you if you love underdog movies where people work together to overcome then this movie is for you.