The Martian is “out of this world”

“Bring him home.” That’s what The Martian movie poster states. The movie has some pretty big names that star in it, from Jeff Daniels playing Teddy Sanders, the NASA director, Donald Glover as Rich Purnell, an aerodynamicist, and even Sean Bean who plays Mitch Henderson who is the mission director for the Ares III mission. I had heard that it was a worthwhile movie, but I didn’t know what to expect. It certainly wasn’t disappointing though. Matt Damon’s character is not one to be taken lightly. Playing stranded Astronaut Mark Watney, he definitely adds a lot to this movie. Overall, this is definitely the best movie seen in theatres in the last 2 years. I was a big fan right away and it definitely is probably the best Sci-Fi movie I have ever seen.

The movie is about the Ares III Mission team on Mars. It takes place in the year 2035. The crew is there for 31 sols (Martian days) before the return to Earth, but their mission is cut short due to a huge Martian Storm that strands one Martian, Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who is presumed dead after a large piece of debris throws him many yards into the storm. Believing he is dead, the crew leaves. Watney awakens and realizes he has been left. Watney realizes that he must survive, knowing no one is coming back for him for a while. Being a botanist, he comes up with a plan to grow potatoes for food. The next manned mission to Mars will not come for almost 3 years and he must find a way to get from the Ares III landing to the Ares IV landing site, which has already been planned out. Watney eventually gets contact with NASA by using a Pathfinder Probe and asks therm for help. As he fights to survive, NASA comes up with a plan to send supplies up to Watney to keep him alive until the Ares IV mission or they can send the crew from the Ares III who are on their way back to Earth and use Earth’s atmosphere to shoot them back towards Mars to intercept Watney somehow and he can use the landing ship to take off. Many dangers and obstacles lay ahead, but can they do it?

Plot Wise, this movie was amazing. It is one of those movies that almost makes you feel exhausted after it ends. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and emotionally drains you (in a good way). It has many cliff hangers, heart breaks, and exciting moments in it. Visually, the movie is stunning. Using the Wadi Rum range in Jordan for a background, it looks what we would imagine as Mars, a burnt orange desert with nothing but craters and vast incompleteness for human life. Everything in this movie looks so real. From the rovers, to the spacesuits, to the technologies portrayed, everything looks amazing.

The movie was received very well, and did great at the box office, making almost $500 million dollars internationally and nationally so far. This makes it the 7th top grossing movie of 2015, after some other notable movies that have came out this year such as Jurassic World, Fast and Furious 7, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. But compared to the movies, critically reception wise, the Martian was ranked higher. On IMBD, it has an 8.2/10 based on reviews. I know exactly what he was feeling when he was talking about being on the edge of the seat and talking about the “stunning cinematography”. This movie was definitely worthwhile. On Rotten Tomatoes, it got a 93 percent, even beating out the Bridge of Spies where Tom Hanks played a phenomenal role in. On all websites, all I see are higher scores and a more satisfied base of people who praise Matt Damon and the effects of the Martian, and I don’t blame them. It has probably been the best movie I have seen in the last 5 years. I think it is the best Matt Damon movie I have seen.

In the end, I would rank The Martian a 9/10, due to its phenomenal acting and plot. It’s visual effects are outstanding and have been some of the best I have seen in a Sci-Fi movie the last couple of years. So, if you want to see a movie that is great overall and keeps you on the edge of your seat, check out Ridley Scott’s The Martian, and you won’t regret it.