Seul sur Mars

This is a rare, light-hearted science fiction film that deliberately downplays the most common fears about the future and the unknown universe, focusing instead on human effort and the science that can save humanity.The film has a tech-geek's idiocy and optimism. (Matt Damon, of course, did it perfectly.)Even if the movie is a little bit stereotypical in its emotional setting, it can still touch the audience at crucial moments.

Although The Martian is set in an indeterminate future I have questions about labeling it science fiction. One of the film's best strengths is that it is based on what we know about the landscape and atmosphere of Mars right at this point in time. It's a desert planet with water and no life as we know it. Compared to what Matt Damon has to go through, Robinson Crusoe was on that tropical isle for a picnic.

They never really say just exactly what year The Martian is set in. The film in that sense avoids a trap like so many others fall into. Just this past year we saw 2015 come and go and it wasn't really anything like the 2015 that Marty McFly experienced. That's just one example.

Of course you can also never predict what popular trends will be there. That's purely speculative. So you can't have Matt Damon's character listening to current music. His captain's taste in music was 70s disco and that really became a running joke. It's all he heard for the months he was on Mars. Personally I'd prefer a selection of 30s and 40s music with Bing Crosby at the top of my list. But if that's all I heard for months on end, I'd grow to hate Der Bingle.

And that's part of the story, the everlasting boredom trying to keep your mind fresh and busy with tasks for your survival. Like Mr. Roberts from tedium to apathy and always boredom.

What happens in The Martian is that Damon is part of an astronaut team and gets left behind when a Martian sand storm erupts and the crew flees on the space ship. Captain Jessica Chastain takes when she thinks Damon was killed.

The future also brings us better communication and NASA learns that Matt's still there. To say that there's a public relations problem is putting it mildly. Just leaving him there is actually an option discussed. But that goes against the code of a decent civilization which while we're not at Star Trek level yet, we look to be heading that way.

Although The Martian splits time evenly with Damon's plight and the efforts to rescue him, Matt's time alone on the screen with the full range of emotions displayed is what got him his Best Actor nomination. Besides the realistic depiction of Mars, his performance is the other pillar on which this fine film rests. I would give mention to Jessica Chastain and her fine performance as a tough and yet humane leader of her team.

Besides Matt Damon, The Martian is also up for Best Picture and for a flock of awards in the technical categories. It should take home deserved statues this year.

This 2015 film has so many great elements; top notch soundtrack, beautiful imagery, charismatic Matt Damon, realistic science and so much more.

This is why this film scores 10/10 for me. I'm always ready for a rewatch.

The Ares III manned mission encounters a sand storm on Mars. Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left for dead as the rest of the crew evacuate on their spacecraft. Mission control back on Earth is shocked when they discover that Mark is actually alive and alone on Mars.

Simply put, this is a fun space adventure. There is a good deal of Apollo 13 and Gravity. Damon is humorous and engaging. Meanwhile, the mission control back on earth is doing interesting things. Nobody is the villain. Jeff Daniels is a capable bureaucratic leader. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives the team intensity and has fun scenes with Mackenzie Davis. Almost every side character adds to the group. As for the spacecraft, it's interesting to have Jessica Chastain as the commander. The entire cast is great. The whole story is thrilling. There are unexpected turns. It has the feel of reality. A lot of praise has to be given to director Ridley Scott for a well constructed film. Also it's genius to give it a disco soundtrack.

Seeing that the movie was over 2 hrs long, and knowing that the person was going to be stuck on the planet by their self for the majority, I didn't have high hopes for it. Usually these types of movies are boring. Not a lot of writers can pull this off. This movie was really good tho. A group of us watched it and really enjoyed. There were some things they failed to explain, that we collectively came up with our own answer for. Other than that, it was great. I never felt bored or left waiting for more. Overall, I feel it was very well written, produced and acted. Well worth the watching. Some people on here have griped that it was 'predictable', but then, most movies are. Who ever watched Star Wars with the thought that Vader would ultimately win??? Who ever watched Star Trek thinking that Kirk wouldn't find a way to save the day? And frankly, who grew up watching Scooby Doo thinking that someone would actually kill Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne or Velma???