THE MARTIAN: A Review

After a storm hits on Mars, commander Lewis makes the difficult decision to leave before the conditions get too wary. They trudge out into the storm to reach their ship when debris impales Mark Watney (Matt Damon) and he is presumed dead. Unfortunately for Watney, he is not dead, just passed out and is now left completely alone on Mars with only enough food to last him about a year (if he rations). After being there alone for about a month, NASA finally discovers that he is still alive, via satillite imagery. The film is one of adventure, heartache and perserverance.

In the wake of Gravity and Interstellar, audiences now expect much more from a space western and I can say I was not disappointed with this one. Parts of the story seemed to be a bit of a stretch, but what film in outer space doesn't stretch the truth? Now that that's settled. After Gravity and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug I expect a certain level of VFX and graphics. I am perfectly aware that both of these films invested large sums of money into this area and it is almost unfair for me to ask for other films to be on par with these two, however, that is what growth is supposed to yield, right? Wrong. I will not be a Debby Downer here and say it was absolutely horrible in this camp, but I did expect better. Some things just felt like you were watching a computer rendered effect, which is NOT the feeling you want when watching a film with the publicity that The Martian has.

Luckily, for me, that was the end of the shortcomings of this film. There were a few things I may say were average, for example the cinematography was just alright. Don't get me wrong, the lighting was great and there was nothing bad about it, but there was nothing NEW about it either. The camera movements, framing and compositions were all very standard.

What truly awed me was Matt Damon. He's always been a favorite of mine and is without a doubt an exceptional actor, but this film blew me away. He was funny, pathetic, endearing and tender all at the same time. I believed everything, which is unusual for me because I watch actors while filming all the time. I see their strategies in production and on the screen. But what Damon did was become his character, much like Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight and Christian Bale in The Fighter. What made his acting even more impressive was the fact that he was acting alone for most of the movie. In acting classes they teach you that acting is reacting, meaning, acting comes alive when you are really reacting to who and what is around you. Damon had to completely elimate one of those things and the what wasn't always really there either because it is taking place in space. I can't forget to also praise the rest of the cast, all of whom did a fantastic job creating the sense of urgency that was the plot of the film. Without these other characters the film would not have been successful.

Overall, The Martian was a great new film and everyone should see it. Beware, however, it is not for kids and it may cause extreme anxiety.

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