Very disappointed & I love space movies

Rating: 2/10 (9 June 2018)

I grew up when NASA first started sending people into space and it captivated me so much so that I would build models of the spacecraft and hang them out my window when a mission was on. I'm also a fan of Ridley Scott but this movie missed the mark by a wide margin for me.
First of all, it is WAY TOO LONG and I found my inner child constantly saying "are we there yet?" This was the result of a lack of dramatic tension in the screenplay and lack of depth to the characters. I agree with other viewers who say there should have been more angst about being alone on a planet millions of miles from home. If it was me, I would be freaking out! (Then I would pray). Also some great shots of that isolation against the magnificent universe would have been awesome but we were given none of these.
We have seen these movies before done better - my standard is always "Independence Day" where you had real character development, dramatic tension, and excellent humor in the script. None of these elements are present in this script. In fact, we know we have been here before, and just like making copies of a tape, successive versions aren't quite as sharp as the original. This movie must have been the 10th copy!
Not good enough for a Ridley Scott movie. Matt Damon does well with what he has but he is not given a whole lot to work with. And was it me, or was that a stand in doing the nude scene of Matt emerging from a shower?
I would have preferred to see Jeff Goldblum do the lead, though I get it that he is not a big enough box office draw. I think he would have done much more with the thin gruel given to the lead.
Waste of talent all around.