Review of The Martian (2015) by Calumrhysuk — 09 Apr 2017

In an era where science-fiction survival tales are becoming a popular occurrence - with 'Interstellar' last year, and 'Gravity' the year before - writer Andy Weir and sci-fi connoisseur Ridley Scott team up to craft a complex tale that is carried by a single character, that character being Mark Watney, played fantastically by Matt Damon (Hollywood's biggest calamity, who requires being rescued... again).

As the film tees off, we are instantly given a first-person view of the dangers of Mars and the fight for survival each astronaut is living out each day on the planet's surface, that is until their emergency evacuation - but nope, even Damon couldn't do that right. Abandoned upon the desolate surface of Mars after being presumed dead by his crew, Damon must do all he can to endure the martian environment. One huge thing I admire about this film's plot, is that it doesn't care about the intellectual level of its audience, as the quote above states so well: it'll science the **** out of them. It's such a complex and well-executed premise that on paper seems nothing more than a impossible feat to pull off.

Technically this film is stunning, the cinematography, the CGI, the production design, all utterly gorgeous, and according to the Golden Globes, it's one of the best comedies of recent years too... yeah, sure. Admittedly the tongue-in-cheek humour does add a more fresh appeal to the film, making it a little more unique than previous sci-fi adventures, it piles on layers of thrills, emotional value and complex character development to create one of the finest science fiction films of recent years.