The Martian is Outstanding!

Rating: 9/10 (11 November 2015)

The Martian Review By Cole LaBruzzo and Taylor Davis
"Every human being has a basic instinct: to help each other out. If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do." - Mark Watney (The Martian)
The Martian is directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) and stars Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Trilogy, The Departed) as astronaut Mark Watney who is on a mission to Mars that is supposed to last two months but instead only lasts two days due to a severe storm. When trying to evacuate, Mark is hit with debris and stranded on Mars while his crew leaves because they think the debris killed him. However, Mark is alive and now has to figure out how to survive 4 years with limited supplies and no connection to Earth or NASA.
The acting is definitely one of the high points of this movie, particularly Damon's performance as astronaut Mark Watney. Damon was very believable in the role and managed to pull off comical moments and moments of intense peril. He had to carry a lot of the movie on his own which is a tough feat to accomplish but he did it well. The supporting cast includes Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), who also do an amazing job. They sell the intensity and drasticness of the situation very well.
Throughout the film, we see Watney applying accurate scientific methods to ration his food and supplies. You really get the feeling of how hard he worked to survive on the planet. Furthermore, the visuals were spectacular, with the feeling you are actually on Mars: Mars actually looks like Mars and not just a boring desert. The story was well shot and well told and the viewer is always interested in what's happening.
In the end we really enjoyed The Martian and thought it was well-acted and spectacularly directed. It is definitely an experience that should be seen in the movie theater and we highly recommend seeing it in theaters. 9/10