Sopravvissuto - The Martian

My title sounds sarcastic, but I really mean it. If it doesn't bother you when films depict bangs, crashes, rumbles, booms, and pew-pew "laser" beams (add Austin Powers finger quotes) in the vacuum space, then load up your popcorn and get set for a wild ride. If, on the other hand, the aforementioned cinematic gimmicks bother you, then you still might enjoy this film but just be prepared for that and more.

Although The Martian gives us just an occasional low, tasteful rumble when spaceships fly by, that's the least of its scientific transgressions, and things get pretty "Mars Attacks" preposterous in the final 20 minutes. Normally I wouldn't even bring this up since basically EVERY space movie in the history of EVER, except for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1969), has sound effects in space. But the problem is that "The Martian" takes a very committed, scientific, realistic tone which sets us up for an extremely scientific, realistic story. It falls short on that mark, and rather than bore you and pretentiously inflate my own ego by pointing out every flaw, I'll let you read the other reviews, or better yet: just accept that there are scientific loopholes so big that you can drive a Quasar through it (and I'm not talking about the car made in 1967).

Ok if I haven't lost you, then let's talk about the fun stuff. The special effects are FANTASTIC. Director Ridley Scott ("Alien", "Blade Runner") outshines himself once again with a truly magnificent feast for the eyes, and especially if you watch it on a large UHD screen, that alone is worth the price of admission.

The story itself is riveting. It's a tale of survival on a barren planet where Matt Damon fights a constant battle NOT against little green men or pew-pew "laser" beams but against the cold and sterile reality of space. That was my favorite part of the movie, the fact that it can carry our interest for 2 1/2 hours with the only real conflict being how to survive on a planet where nothing works.

Matt Damon does an incredible job of acting, portraying a complex character who realizes he's a dead man but rises to the challenge and pits every brain cell he's got against the universe. Similar to the excellent "Cast Away" or even the iconic "Papillon", it's a story about never giving up even if it kills you, and that regardless of whether we get a happy ending or a sad one, is the takeaway of this flick.

I would group this film with other modern, minimalistic sci-fi flicks that take a realistic ("boring" to some) approach but deliver a lot of drama. Flicks like "Moon", "Solaris", or on the older shelf "Contact", "2010" and possibly even the grandfather of them all, "2001" (though don't get your hopes up too high as I mentioned up front) will give you a taste for what's in store if you decide to watch "The Martian".

Strong, well-executed, moving. Classic Scott-style directing, with its fast pace, yet never leaving emotion behind, keeping you glued to the screen throughout the runtime. Reminiscent of the original Alien, yet clearly proving the director's overall increased maturity and experience. My thoughts on the cinematography are mixed, from the one hand side the movie features a particularly bland color palette, most sequences however are nice, vivid and well-balanced. What strikes me the most is the fact that they didn't account for the reduced gravity on Mars, however not only is the price cut behind this clear, but also you forget it surprisingly easily in the first 10 minutes or so, since everything else is so gripping. The visual effects are simply flawless, realistic to the maximum and beautiful at the same time. The story itself and the characters are simply masterful, not at all out-of-this-world, or should i say the way facts are presented combined with the pacing makes you believe it's all happening at the time you're watching the movie. Though i am probably not meant to make this comparison, it leaves (in my humble opinion) Nolan's "Interstellar", a great movie on its own, completely in the dust, simply proving the effect Scott's experience has had on his work. A must-watch.

If you've ever wondered if Tom Hanks went even further adrift in Castaway then this could be the answer you're looking for.

An Earth team are on Mars carrying out tests on the surface of The Red Planet, a message comes through from Earth warning of a huge and fast approaching storm. The team quickly assemble and flee, unfortunately Mark Watney is caught in the storm, loses his communication device and presumed dead. Watney has survived and has a harsh realism that he's abandoned on Mars with precious little supplies, no company and little chance of survival. Being 50 million miles away and 4 years away in terms of rescue life seems bleak. Watney has to defy the odds in order to survive.

Ridley Scott is responsible for so many wonderful films, and for many The Martian will sit among them.

This is a beautifully made film, it looks incredible, I love the realisation of Mars's surface, truly brilliant, wasn't going to be otherwise with the budget they had. The music is interesting, the score itself is quite subtle, but the tunes from Abba, Gloria Estefan etc are so random.

The pacing of the film is very cleverly done, never does it feel rushed, and on very few occasions does it feel slow or padded. If i'm honest at twenty minutes I was questioning how the film was possibly going to last over two hours.

Matt Damon shows his class, he carries the film on his shoulders, he gives a stellar performance as Mark, cannot be faulted. Some of the others in the film were a little hit and miss, I enjoyed Chiwetel Ejiofor very much. Jeff Daniels was fairly good. Kristen Wiig seemed an odd choice, but she was good too.

It was better then I expected, I enjoyed it a lot 8/10

The film is the finest examples of science fiction and science fiction embodies everything required. Matt Damon has given the right role until the end of the case. Besides the fact that one does not really need. All movies have moved on their own. We have seen examples of this, such as the Buried and 127 Hours of very good quality movies. The master Ridley Scott's science fiction after a long separation has made a great comeback with this film case. After this film, Ridley Scott disappointing those who say the sound was cut. Thank you for this wonderful film Ridley masters. Maybe the best in 2015, as I mentioned in the title.

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.