“An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assumes him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.”
–IMDb
The Martian
Starring
Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig
Directed by Ridley Scott
Box Office: $630,620,818
Review
Thanks to my good friend Tony, from 2 Guys, Movies & a Mic, I was able to watch The Martian directed by Ridley Scott, at the Montreal Premiere. It features the talent of an all-star cast. This includes Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Donald Glover, Sean Bean, and…
Okay, now I’m just listing everyone. I’ll stop (but there are several more amazing actors).
I am not always a huge fan of Matt Damon. With the rest of the cast for The Martian, there were enough factors to it that made me excited to watch it. It should be said, that I have not read the novel written by Andy Weir. Unfortunately, I can’t compare the film to the book.
However, I will now be adding The Martian to, if not my Top 100 Film List, at least my Top 10 Ridley Scott films.
I have loved Ridley Scott for years. Whether he is the Producer or the Director, I respect his work. Although not all of it is amazing, Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator- several of his films are in my Top 100 Film List.
My Thoughts
Great Cast
I loved this film. Matt Damon does an amazing job and he makes the film fly by during his scenes. He brings a lot of humor to it. He almost makes you forget that he is going through life and death situations. I have a newfound respect for him and I can’t picture anyone else playing the role. He has been known for losing/gaining weight for films and this one is no different. I give Damon two huge thumbs up and I will try to keep a more open mind when it comes to him from now on.
It was nice to see Jeff Daniels again (I still haven’t been able to get through Newsroom). I think he was a good choice to fit his role.
The women of the film (Mara, Chastain, Wiig, Davis) do their parts. While none of their performances made me want to applaud them, I do respect how their characters were those of strong and smart women.
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Serenity, 12 Years a Slave) is also absolutely splendid. It’s no wonder why he has been nominated for Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
I cheered two times during the film. One, was when Donald Glover (also known as Childish Gambino- what a great concert that was…..) finally played his part in the storyline. Two, was when I saw Sean Bean. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan. Seeing him instantly made me happy. For those of you who love LOTR, there is a hilarious reference that almost made me tear up from laughing so hard. I won’t ruin it, but you’ll know exactly what I’m speaking of when you watch it.
I was impressed!
There were times when I did shake my head out of exasperation, but it didn’t happen too often. The fact that I only did it three times says a lot. Most films these days cause me to do it about 20 times, if not more.
However, the effects, props, and costumes were all done really well. I don’t feel like they were trying too hard to “Wow” us with any aspects of the film. The effects were not overdone, but they were done in a more natural way.
There were even times when I wondered to myself, “When was the last time I got this excited over a movie that deals with space?”
I’m quite sure the most recent time would be during Interstellar. To be fair, there were several films that made their way into my thought process of trying to answer my own question. One movie, however, popped into my head first; Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks. I don’t know what it is about The Martian, but it brought me back to the feelings I had when I first watched Apollo 13. Alright, the second time I watched it. I was 5 years old when I saw Apollo 13 in the theatre and I fell asleep; give me a break. It’s hard for me to explain, but it was really nice to have those feelings about a film again.
The Martian is 141 minutes long and by the end of it, my legs almost forgot what it felt like to walk. Also, I had run a bit late, thanks to the STM. Because of this, we had to sit in the very front row, (again, I am so sorry Tony). I did not know that the film was in 3D. I found it unnecessary but to be fair, I am usually not a fan of 3D films, to begin with.
Overall
Even though the film felt a bit long and drawn out at times, I left the theatre saying, “I could watch that again right now.” If it was good enough for me to want to watch it again, right away, while subjecting my legs to more sitting time, and my eyes to more “3D torture”, then the movie must have done several things right.
I laughed more than I expected and it made me emotional at the proper moments for the proper amount of time. I left the movie and smiled the entire commute home. Especially when I saw posters for it on every other block.
I definitely recommend this movie for everyone to watch. I would also suggest you go see it in the theatre for the “big screen” factor. Almost every movie that deals with space are better on the big screen. Since we had been in the first row, I honestly felt like I was on Mars with Matt Damon. I must say, he looks pretty good even in 3D, so I’m not complaining.
“Here’s to Duct Tape, Potatoes, 80’s Music and Tarp”.
If you go see it, let me know what you thought! A big “Thank You” again, to Tony for allowing me to join him for the film.
Also, please stay tuned, for I will be joining Tony on the 2GMM podcast (follow them, they are better at reviewing movies than I am) to discuss the film.
Here’s the link!
