The Martian was a book everyone was raving about, everywhere. When I went to work, my boss told me it was amazing. When I went to school, someone there told me it was amazing.
Then the movie came out. And everyone was raving about it, again, everywhere. I’m not the biggest fan of space-related movies, and with the recent discoveries in space, my movie outlook is always filled with extreme scenarios that lead me leaving the theatre dazed and stressed.
But critics were applauding The Martian, viewers were enjoying it, and the movie was topping the charts-even the Rotten Tomatoes rating was a 93%. It isn’t often that I hear of movies that strike a chord with Rotten Tomato ratings and critics alike, so I decided to give the movie a shot. The trailer was captivating and inserted some scenes of Matt Damon delivering short comedic lines, so I figured it could lighten the movie up for me.
Needless to say, Matt Damon did not fail to disappoint me.
On the surface, the movie is about a storm on Mars that leaves astronaut and botanist Mark Watney stranded on Mars. The film takes the audiences between three scenes: Earth with NASA scientists under the assumption that Watney is dead, the space shuttle with the rest of the crew members downcast over the “loss” of Watney, and Watney on Mars knowing that he still lives.
From here, it is a journey for not only Watney, but also the scientists on Earth and Watney’s crewmates as they realize the last astronaut is alive and that he needs to be brought home.
One of the best things about the movie is that many of the details about Mars are fairly accurate. With Mars being NASA’s next big mission, the audience feels even more attached to bringing Watney back to safety.
This high stress situation portrayed in the movie is lightened by some sarcastic and comedic comments that leave us chuckling every so often.
Even if you weren’t interested in space or astronomy, I would highly recommend that you go check out this movie. If anything, this movie leaves the audience with the idea that every problem in life should be tackled with a determined mind and that sometimes a little bit of humor can go a long way.