Disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (12 August 2016)

Maybe my expectations were too high (I watched this right after coming off Interstellar, which I rather enjoyed) but this movie was completely forgettable. The plot is a standard "save the stranded guy" story reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan but not executed nearly as well. I could see everything coming from a mile away. Predicting what would happen next was more enjoyable than watching the film itself.
Matt Damon plays one of Hollywood's favorite tropes, a tough guy who, when placed in a life-threatening situation, would rather crack jokes and make fun of disco music than portray any kind of emotion a person in the same situation would conceivably show. He's unrealistically knowledgeable about stuff outside of his field and shows no real depth. There are no psychological consequences of being abandoned on a completely different planet to him.
The rest of his crew are a dull group that I can't even remember for anything other than their unlikely decision to spend a ridiculous amount of time in space away from their families just to save the main character because he is, well, the main character.
The science behind the film was also quite unbelievable. Directors stretching things a little for convenience is no problem with me (and a sci-fi film shouldn't be judged solely by its scientific accuracy) but this film had some errors that my nine-year old cousin even noticed.
The only thing I have nothing bad to say about are the visuals. The CGI was some real high-quality stuff, and the visuals of Mars were stunning. Like most movies nowadays, it's a piece of mind-numbing eye candy, all surface and no substance. Overall, it's just one more piece of Hollywood media that will be consumed by the masses and be forgotten as soon at the next space flick comes out.