The Martian (2015) - Movie Review

Wow.
I honestly can't seeing remember a movie as solid and almost perfect as The Martian recently. Directed by Ridley Scott of Gladiator and Alien fame and written by Drew Goddard, who created and co-wrote Marvel's Daredevil, The Martian follows the story of Mark Watney, a NASA astronaut who becomes stranded on Mars when a mission goes horribly wrong. With four years until the next manned mission to Mars, Watney has to try and stay alive with limited supplies in an incredibly harsh and inhospitable environment. Back on Earth, NASA must try and find a way to rescue Watney while also dealing with the implications of the situation.
The film features an all-star cast with Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Sebastian Stan, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Sean Bean to name a few. All of them are excellent in their respective roles, with the real standouts for me being Ejiofor and Damon himself, whose performance is so consistently naturalistic and believable that it'll be a shame such a performance won't be acknowledged by the Oscars or Academy Awards. It's such a multi-layered, fascinating performance, and considering I've never been a fan of Matt Damon beforehand, The Martian gives him so much to work with and he sells the hell out of it.
It also helps that the screenplay Damon and the rest of the cast are working from is sublime though. Drew Goddard has written such a funny, optimistic and despite being set in the near-future, very grounded and very believable script that it's difficult not to get invested in the events unfolding on-screen. While the third act is a little too drawn out for my liking, the film is looking at the events from a more realistic perspective.
Visually though, the film truly excels. The mix of location work and computer-enhancements for the surface of Mars blend seamlessly together that you can actually believe that Mark Watney is truly trapped on another world. Ridley Scott's direction is brilliant, and every single shot is stunningly well-composed that it's one of the most visually rich and well-constructed movies of the year.
The sound design and music are also fantastic, never taking center-stage and always working within the confines of what's required for each moment in the film. It's also great to have the ongoing gag that Mark has to put up with his crew members' taste in music throughout the film, with various pieces of 80's disco music played at different points during the movie.
The Martian is though, at it's heart, a story of friendship and optimism in the face of seemingly impossible odds. When Mark Watney, the Hermes crew or NASA see a problem in their way, they don't moan, they don't get over-emotional - they just look to see how to solve the problem. For a disaster film to have such a confident spirit in the characters and the entire human race that any problem can be overcome is a testament to exactly what works about this movie: it's not doom-laden, it's about hope.
Overall, The Martian is a brilliant film, and while I'm not sure if it's my personal favourite film of 2015 so far, it's definitely up there as being one of the best the year has had to offer, and if you haven't already seen the film, I highly recommend you do.

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