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Let's just get this out of the way: The Martian is one of the best movies I've seen all year. The movie, which is directed by Ridley Scott, stars Matt Damon as astronaut and botanist Mark Watney who is left behind on Mars by his crew after being assumed to be dead when debris hit and left him unconscious during a storm. Left with very limited supplies, Mark has to figure out how to communicate with NASA back on Earth while at the same time figuring out how to grow food on Mars. The supporting cast includes names such as Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, and Aksel Hennie as the members of Watney's crew. Back on Earth, we see people like Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, and Kristen Wiig.
**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**
So, what is it that makes The Martian so good? Well, for starters, it looks and feels very real. The visual effects on Mars are simply spectacular to the point where you feel as if they shot this movie on location in Mars. Also, because Mark is constantly recording himself as a way to log his journey, there is a sense that this is a kind of documentary which adds to making this movie feel real. The characters are constantly throwing science words around, but they do so in a way in which even if you don't know a whole lot about science (like me) you still understand everything that is happening. There is also a real attention to the smallest of details, whether it's the way in which Mark has to ration his food or all of the different challenges it would take to build and send another spacecraft or simply sending the first ship back. The filmmakers took everything into consideration and that is just so refreshing to see.
I loved the loyalty that Mark's crew portrayed throughout the film. You could see how hard it was on them, especially on Captain Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), and when they were presented with the opportunity to go back and rescue him, they didn't hesitate even though they would go twice as long as expected without seeing their families and would be risking their lives in the process. While this film is stacked with characters, there is no real villain. Instead, the antagonist here seems to be Mars itself since it is the thing that is constantly giving Mark more and more problems. Back on Earth, Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) is the closest there is to a villain but he really is just a businessman trying to figure out what is the best way to approach this incredibly difficult situation.
Without a doubt, the absolute best part of The Martian is Matt Damon as Mark Watney. Even though he's facing almost sure death, he somehow manages to look at the funny side of things and while you can see how desperate he is to get back home, he stays composed most of the time and never gives up. That is not to say that he keeps a happy attitude throughout the entire movie. There are moments that cause him to lose his cool, of course, such as when the place where he is harvesting his potatoes accidentally blow up and he is left without a way to grow more food. Much like all of the people on Earth that are cheering for Mark to make it home, you also find yourself hoping that it works out for him, which makes it even harder to see when things go wrong for him. You learn to care for his character and you get so invested into his well-being, which goes back to just how real it all feels. Near the end of the film, when Mark launches into space to finally rendezvous with his friends and he finally breaks into tears, letting out all of his frustration and despair, it gets to you and gives such a sense of extreme happiness because you've seen all of the physical and emotional damage that he has endured for months.
There isn't a whole lot to not like here. As is the case with a lot of movies, some of the supporting cast was underused and underdeveloped. Beck and Johanssen (Sebastian Stan and Kate Mara, respectively), for example, somehow end up falling in love and having a baby at the end of the film without any prior indication that they were a thing. I also feel like they could have cut the film down a little more to not have it be as long as it actually is. Those are very minuscule things, though. The Martian is absolutely fantastic and deserves to be seen on the big screen. It is a 9.5/10 for me.
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