A Movie Review: The Martian

The Martian. A manned mission to Mars is hit with an unexpected storm. The storm is so strong that they fear that their vehicle will tip over. They make their way to their vehicle. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is hit with debris during this journey and is flung out of sight. Based on body readings, it is assumed that he is dead. Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) makes the decision to leave.

And yet, Mark Watney is not dead. A piece of debris had punctured his space suit, damaging the suit's instruments. Instead of just giving up on himself, he goes about attempting to survive on Mars. He builds a potato farm to supplement his current food supply.He also figures out a way to communicate with earth. He hits a major setback when the room he is growing his potatoes blows up, but he keeps going forward in his will to survive.

This movie kept me involved throughout. As discussed with some friends, I don't think there are any moments where you think Mark Watney is going to die. You know that just isn't going to happen, especially when we get to the last few minutes. Would everyone go to such a large effort to rescue Mark Watney only to see him die at the end? Not likely.

What I think is intriguing about the movie that doesn't exactly give you a great sense of worry for Watney is simply the methodical manner that everyone (Watney, NASA, his crew mates) go about attempting to survive and rescue him.