Soooo That Makes Me A Space Pirate?

The Martian - Film - 2015

The Martian is the new Sci Fi film from Ridley Scott.

This is obviously a genre that Scott knows well and one that I'm not always the biggest fan of. I dislike a lot of Sci Fi films for the pure fact that I don't think they are very good. However, I had heard a lot of good things about the book and the film so I thought I would give it a shot.

Having not read the book myself I wasn't sure what to expect however, I have heard about the book and mr brain was following along the lines of something similar to Locke and Buried where it's just the one guy and voices. But this wasn't like that at all.

Damon plays an astronaut Mark Watney who gets stranded on Mars; his crew think he's dead after getting hit by debris while they are leaving the planet.

Damon has to figure out a way to survive on the planet for months that is a desolate desert as far as the eye can see.

Despite the pretty damning nature of the story Damon brings humour to his situation.  His character is the joker of his crew, always cracking jokes and coming up the most insane ideas. This doesn't change even when he's on Mars. Not many actors would be able to pull off this act as it would come off as wrong or they just wouldn't be funny. Damon really excels in this area with some genuine laugh out loud moments. 

The secondary characters in the film people such as his crew, Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), Rick Martinez (Michael Pena) and Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara) to name a few are just as strong as Damon. Mission control also plays a big part in the film where they help Watney (supposedly) with the struggles of Mars. Each character brings their own essence into the film. They all play an important role and play them well. There isn't really a villain in the film as Mars' itself is the villain for Watney but Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) has to make all the hard decision in the film, which people don't always agree with. And guess what people? Sean Bean doesn't die! I know right! 

Anyway, the story. I can't tell you how much it stuck to the book. On the other hand I can tell you that the story was excellent. It was made interesting by the way Watney has to use obscure science techniques to live on the planet. As far as I am aware the majority of science checks out with a few things just for Hollywood. He explains all of his methods is a simple way, that anyone could understand it without needing a degree in science. This is sometimes where a lot Science-Fiction films go wrong. They go off base too much that it seems ridiculous or they stick to it too much that it makes it boring for people to watch! 

On the whole I really enjoyed The Martian, it was well worth the watch and I will be reading the book. 

9/10 

The film had an excellent beginning, middle and end. I mean what else do you want from a film? 

I would like to read the book and see how closely it sticks to the words of the author as this is something that interests me when a film has been made from a book. 

This film is an excellent choice of a film for anyone to see, there is minor swearing so be wary of children but overall it is a good film for anyone to watch!