Not Destined To Be One Of His Best, But Another Strong Movie From Sir Ridley Scott And Matt Damon.

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2015)

Ah "The Martian", you kind of crept up on me. The last big must sees for the end of the year is the next James Bond feature "Spectre", and of course a return to the great long running space opera "Star Wars Episode 7". It's been kind of nice just to have the first trailer peak my interest enough to go see it, and now all I want to do is read the book and see any differences between them. Upon leaving the theatre a few reactions I heard from the audience were "On the edge of my seat, but way too technical for me to understand it". Really? I am in no means a scientist at all and have no deep knowledge on NASA protocols, but I feel Drew Goddard's script did justice in simplifying it well enough therefore keeping it fairly smarter than the average blockbuster overall.
Matt Damon stars as an astronaut who in a sand storm is presumed dead and left behind on Mars, and then has to fight to survive on a planet where nothing grows (Luckily he's a botanist). What proceeds is a fun 2 and a half hours of you either die or just get on with it, and luckily everyone in the movie has something to get on with. Even though there really is quite the ensemble cast Damon's character and scenario is the only stuff I really cared for, so much so his positivity is sickening (In a good way). Just to say we've seen Matt surprisingly pop up in many space movies recently such as Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium" (2013), and Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" (2014). All have been visually stunning and again it has been nice to have him in a strong lead role again.
If anything I was particularly overwhelmed at the production quality and just how well Mars had been portrayed. Apparently Wadi Rum in Jordan has been used in many movies set on Mars, and the fact that Ridley Scott used only 20 sets and filmed it all in just 70 days just shows how effortlessly the man still produces great quality movies after making so many. Other than that, the space suits had a bit of "Prometheus" (2012) nostalgia to me, and the music by composer Harry Gregson-Williams (Known mostly for the Metal Gear Solid video game series) led itself to many great moments of character reflections that didn't include famous disco hits (Not that I think anyone will complain).
Final Verdict: Just to extend the review out a little longer, it is nice to see some of these movies are somewhat encouraging peoples interest in NASA again, especially since the recent discovery of water on Mars has led to the debate of some real exploration going on. I enjoyed the movie a lot, but I'll possibly find the movie harder again to watch a second time. The stuff on earth is nowhere near as appealing as the stuff happening on Mars, and Matt Damon's character is so infinitely resourceful I found no real conflict in the scenarios as he has this infectious "MacGyver" can do attitude. Maybe the film would have benefited with a little more desperation or isolation I don't know, but I'm sure in the future it will enjoy a "Silent Running" (1972) level of cult classic. If you care for a level of real science with your entertainment it's certainly more than worth your time. 8/10.