Seul sur Mars

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.

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.

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.

Exceptional sci-fi drama from Ridley Scott about an astronaut (Matt Damon) stranded on Mars and the efforts made to rescue him. As others have pointed out, there's more than a little bit here that reminds you of movies like Apollo 13 and Cast Away (particularly the former). I fail to see how that's a knock on it but it's being presented as such by some. We all come to movies with our own expectations and baggage. I'm not a Scott fanboy expecting him to wow me (his last two films were not great). I just wanted to be entertained and this did the trick. It's a movie aimed at the masses that is smarter than your average movie aimed at the masses. Maybe it's not for all nerds (a quick glance at some of the reviews shows a lot of inane nit-picking from people who seem to have no concept of dramatic license), but I didn't find the movie dumbed-down at all. I also want to say how much I appreciated that this managed to stay remarkably light and positive while still maintaining the tension, proving once again that you don't have to be depressing to be good drama. If you haven't seen The Martian yet, you should. It's a great film with a first-rate cast, good direction, and stellar effects. If you're just looking for a quality movie to entertain you for a while, this should be something you'll enjoy.

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".