The Martian

BossFam! How’s it been? It’s been too long since I last spoke to you, so I’m going to catch you up with some of the films that I’ve been watching that are still out in theaters. If you’re still wondering if you should check some of these flicks out, take a seat, relax, and check out this review for the Martian, starring  Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, & Chiwetel Ejiofor.

The story of The Martian centers on Astronaut Mark Watney as he attempts to stay alive on Mars long enough for a rescue mission. After being stranded on the planet as the result of being separated from his team, Watney has to find a way to survive the atmosphere of the planet, lengthen his rations, and make it to the extraction site. It’s an incredible story of ingenuity under pressure and survival that I’m sure makes it an Oscar contender for the season.

First things first, that cast! Fully loaded with the best talent, it’s hard to see a film like The Martian fail. The actors are brilliant in their own right, but to see all of them together like this, telling the different facets of a diamond of a story, is nothing short of amazing. Matt Damon as Mark Watney pulled off an amazing performance considering that most of his scene are filmed in the isolation of Mars. He spent most of the time cataloging himself as he survived Mars.

Watney’s fellow crew members consisted of 5 other Astronauts: Commander Melissa Lewis, Rick Martinez, Beth Johanssen, Chris Beck, and Alex Vogel (Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, & Aksel Hennie, respectively) all involved in some pretty heavy scenes. Watching their dynamic was completely entertaining. They operated much like a family in this film and it was great watching them interact in their own little bubble separate from Earth and Watney.

NASA members at home gave way to some phenomenally dramatic scenes as well. Primarily the talents of Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chewitel Ejiofor, & Sean Bean are used for the NASA team members. All these actors were able to carry some really strong messages for the business side of the movie, showing the intensity of the all the members of NASA involved with establishing contact with Watney and providing a solid rescue plan to follow.

The visual was were to be expected on a movie of this scale. Seeing the Hermes station in flight was nothing short of spectacular. Most of the scenes were either in NASA headquarters, on Mars (a desert scene), or on Hermes (space station set). It was great to see the filmmakers set up three different scenes to tell three small stories within this grand story.

I’m looking forward to the release of The Martian on Blu-ray so that I can check it out again. I would definitely tell anyone who has yet to see this film to make a stop in. Stick with the standard and avoid the 3D, though. Overall, The Martian told an amazing story about the ingenuity and tenacity of the human will when set to survive, and demonstrated how easily folks can come together when their aim is for something great.