The Martian

Peter McGinn 6/23/2021 3:58:42PM 8.4

I feel like this science fiction movie was a stunning achievement, for at least a couple of reasons. Firstly, for much of the time it is a one man show, and that can be risky in a feature length film. It worked with acclaimed actors Tom Hanks in Cast Away, and with Robert Redford in All is Lost, but could it work with Matt Damon in a sci-fi flick? Well, I answer that question with a resounding ‘yes.’ The movie does cut away to planet Earth and the spaceship returning home without him, so it isn’t all Damon all the time. And some humor is injected here and there to offset the character’s grim situation. I liked the line where he referred to himself as the greatest biologist on the planet. As the only current resident on Mars at that time, he was also the worst biologist on the planet! Another reason this film is remarkable is because there is a lot of science here, which drives the plot as he has to solve continuous problems that arise, not with brute strength or other physical,skills, but with his analytical mind. And yet the details don’t get tedious or overly technical. Oddly enough, it is not a movie I will watch multiple times, as I have lesser robust sci-fI entries such as Super 8 or Monsters, but I plan to watch it at least one more time, just out of appreciation for the solid job that was done in adapting what much must have been a very challenging story to film and have it be both entertaining and informative, both scientific and an amazing adventure.

Xushi 8/23/2026 2:00:09PM 8.4

Review contains spoilers --- You have been warned. --- One of the movies I just can't stop rewatching because of how good I think it is, the movie contains facts that can excite a wide array of audience, since it tackles many categories from action to adventure to science and astrophysics, the movie has most if not many elements related to one of these categories, if you are even slightly interested in any of those subjects, I particularly recommend this movie. I loved many of the parts from this movie, while I also disliked some parts of it, which I will detail in the review below, but ultimately it is a good movie and I personally believe it can make some people go from careless about movies in general to interested, and can make interested people into a passionate, it also tackles many technical terms that can't be seen in many of the more recent movies while also offer some insights about the various topics to even students. Either way, I love the good ending the movie offers, although it raises some question, this is my review on each sections: - **Story**: 9/10 - The story is very interesting to follow, as in how Mark Watney will survive on Mars, and it is possible for it to actually happen should one day the travel to Mars is unlocked, the premise of how Mark is left on Mars is also possible although I will throw some doubts about how Mark managed to survive the night that long with a hole in his abdomen, with oxygen escaping and the pressure of space since Mars doesn't have an atmosphere last time I recall, along that the time skips makes it confusing in some sections of the movie on how and why it happens, and there seemed to be some pointless actions and scenes in the movie like some nude scenes, unfortunately it will scale down the review. - **Characters**: 10/10 - The characters and acting are great, they managed to convey the raw emotions of each character, and there seems to be a good insight on the backstory of each character even though there isn't exactly an "development", but considering most of the crew remains in space, the change and development of their personality would be catastrophic for the mission, which makes their character very static, but this is the one time it actually makes sense for them to be like that, making it a perfect score. - **Visuals**: 9.5/10 - The visuals are very cool in this movie, considering it needing to be a space movie it is always great to see a representation of the planets, besides the model they used for the space station looked incredibly good along with the model for Mars, though it is unfortunate that the visuals lose points for full back nudity, as I personally dislike it, but still it doesn't affect much the visual score due to how momentary it is. - **Audio**: 9.5/10 - The audio is crisp for the most of the movie, and the choice of song is both ironic and good, I will admit it surprised me when they began playing Star Man, as I did not expect that song of all the songs, giving it a very good score, though I would've loved to hear more of what were spoken during the last few scenes of the movie when Mark successfully managed to be rescued by the crew giving it a slightly lower score. - **Enjoyment**: 9.5/10 - I honestly have no words to describe how much I like this movie, I think it is almost perfect in it's entirety, and I very much enjoyed it. **Overall: 9.5/10** A beautiful movie, a beautiful story of a man in space, longing home and surviving with every means he can, the story of Mark Watney, The Martian.

Andres Gomez 6/23/2021 3:57:46PM 8.4

This is a movie following the lead started with Gravity with the human main character fighting for survival in space. The plot has a good combination of suspense, action, humor and drama. Damon performs well and the rest of the cast does a good job and has been well chosen. It is not a magnificent movie but it is good enough to fill a couple of hours of entertainment.