strong.. very mild if any spoilers

Rating: 8/10 (20 October 2015)

I had WIld Tales, Ex Machina, and Mississippi Grind at the top of the 2015 list until I hit the BigD the other night and caught this in 3D - which I usually don't care for but man o man it was sweet for this flick. LATE EDIT.. have since moved back to #4.
Visually, the film absolutely knocks it out of the park. A colossal homerun. Damon is good in the lead, and the supporting cast is great too. UNlike Castaway, which I did enjoy thoroughly, the castaway segment of this film is quite eventful, funny, and paced evenly.. the film is a quick 2:20... for me I wish this was more like 3 hrs long because some of the subplots were jettison because of the running time.
I suggest seeing it in 3D because the spaceship scenes are great in 3d as is the early 'storm' scene. I don't care for the format. I only saw it because the time suited my mother and I's schedule... by the way she absolutely loved the film too. SOmetimes it darkens the overall film and makes it a little more blurry for me, but not the case here. I enjoyed it.
There's only one major problem with the film, and I say major because it stands out like a sore thumb even though I guess it shouldn't be that big of a deal... it's just an idea that was used in a late scene that seemed a little stupid(canopy). That idea and the fact they packed a 3hr movie into 2:20 are the only things keeping this from being a 10, and that's saying something.
Ridley took the only good aspects of Prometheus(some of the visual aspects:suits, planet, etc), and only enhanced them here. The plot is the opposite(not rocket science pun intended).
Martian may drive up the middle of the road, but the acting, script, and visuals are so good that it literally elevates the film to another level. Ridley is back with a bang.
Very good film. Dunno if it will hold onto the top spot, after all I'm just 30 films into my 85 film watchlist for 2015, but I don't see any chance that it doesn't stay in the top 5 when all is said and done next spring. Highly recommend this. 88/100
You might like this if you like:Castaway(about even or ever-so- slightly below), Hunter Prey(not as good - b-movie rec), Prometheus(not nearly as good), or Gravity(not quite as good as this but pretty close).
cya
PS the reasons I late edited this down froM 9 TO 8 and from #1 for '15 to #4(FURTHER NOW WITH OTHER FLICKS MOVING AHEAD) was a rethinking about the cliché'd supporting roles, predictability, and the other small issues, but overall it's a very good film.... may go back up to 9 torn on this. 8.5!