The Martian (2015)
Movie trailer from 20th Century Studios on YouTube
Score: 9.5/10
One of the movies I just can't stop rewatching because of how good I think it is, I think I have rewatched this movie six times by now.
I think the movie contains facts that can excite and interest a wide array of audience, since it tackles many categories from action to adventure to science and astrophysics; i think the movie has most if not many elements related to one of these categories, hence if you are even slightly interested in any of those subjects, I particularly recommend this movie for you.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Review contains spoilers
⚠️ You have been warned
Too Long; Didn't Read (TL;DR)
Overall:
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.
The full crew of ARES III in the movie. Source: IMDB
It is just one of those movies that you could watch it and rewatch it again and again (after a while in between of course), and it would amaze you each time with the details it has, and just how easy it is to understand it, even though you may not understand everything they say, the way they can communicate with you as the viewer is enough.
I think this movie should be watched by more people, as I just can't emphasize how amazing it is as a science fiction movie, and it can definitely be considered a feat unique to it's time, and probably one of a kind among the science fiction movies.
Issues:
The issue I personally find with this movie, even though I love it, is the nudity and unnecessary scenes it contains, even though it isn't full nudity, seeing the back of someone naked isn't always a good thing I appreciate, and for what reason? If it is for showing the scars he had or for comparing the scars, then simply the back could've worked, but they just had to show everything.
Story
Score: 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.
I think the premise of how Mark is left on Mars is possible although I will throw some shades about how Mark managed to survive the night for 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.
Mark Watney looks at the camera in his potato farm on Mars. Source: IMDB
I think the only issues here are the time skips that makes it confusing in some sections of the movie on how and why something happens; alongside that, there seems to be some actions that seems pointless, like the nude scenes, reason for which it unfortunately it will scale down the review score.
Overall I think the story will also lose some points due to some questions that seems to remain unanswered, maybe because I don't know physics as well as the astronauts, but there are for sure discrepancies that remain unaddressed, like how using tape you can repair a space suit? I think it is possible, but unlikely.
Mark using tape to repair the space suit. Source: IMDB
Characters
Score: 10/10
The characters' acting are great, I think they managed to convey the emotions of each character very well during the course of the movie, so well that they seem to be able to influence the viewer.
Footage of the crew searching for Mark Watney in the storm. Source: IMDB
It is very cool that there is actually a few scenes that allows us to look into the background of each character during the movie, and what they were doing before being sent to Mars, alongside the aftermath of the rescue, seeing the characters back in their normal life and job is always a treat.
Mark Watney teaching his experience after the events of the movie. Source: IMDB
I think that, although there isn't exactly a "development" of each character, considering their surroundings, and them being in space, I think this is actually a good reason for not including a kind of "growth" for each character, if they were to change over the course of the space mission, it would've been probably a cause of psychological instability compromising the mission; in contrast the development is seen only after the mission.
One of the crew's family contacting them. Source: IMDB
With those reasons, I think the score for the character this time will be a perfect score, though the lack of development would've brought it a little bit lower, there is enough justification for it to be like that.
Visuals
Score: 9.5/10
As per usual, the visuals in any science fiction movies are amazing, as well as in this movie.
I think they did an amazing job displaying Mars, and I have no idea if they used actual NASA footage of the planet, or they used CGI, but if they used actual footage from NASA, then it really is amazing, but even then with CGI it is still very cool.
I think the best part is the model they used for the space station used to transport people from Earth to Mars, it looked incredibly realistic and good, giving the visuals some great points.
The space station they used to transport the crew to Mars. Source: IMDB
The only demerit is the usage of full back nudity for no reasons, other than probably to charm the female audience with the body, and I personally dislike the way they did it for basically no reason for the story, losing it half a point for that.
Audio
Score: 9.5/10
I think the audio is crisp and sound for most of the movie, making it very easy to hear everything they say during the movie.
Good audio quality during NASA Launch Headquarter scene. Source: IMDB
I also think I find the choice of the songs extremely funny, ironic and beautiful, I will admit it surprised me when Star Man began to play, as I did not expect it to be that song of all the songs to indicate the space travel rescue for Mark is arriving, and yet it is!
I would've loved to hear some of what was being said in the last few scenes after Mark was successfully rescued by the crew, since all I could hear was mostly cheering, even though I wanted to hear what they reporter said, giving it a slightly lower score.
Enjoyment
Score: 9.5/10
I honestly have not many 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.
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.
Mark contacting NASA for the first time with old equipment. Source: IMDB
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