How would you feel if you were stranded all alone on an alien planet? Limited Food, Limited Water and No way of contacting anyone! Would you give up? or would you find a way to survive. Much Like the Tom Hanks classic - 'Cast Away' , The Martian is a Survival Story of a Man, in a seemingly hopeless situation.
Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon is a Botanist and an Astronaut for Nasa who is in Mars with a team, for an expedition. Due to unforeseen circumstances , they are forced to evacuate from the planet during a storm, but in the process ,the team presume Mark to be dead and leave him behind. Having realized that he is all alone on the planet, Mark must figure out a way to survive in Mars, all alone!
What's amazing is the way the character is written.The Movie is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay , adapted from the best selling novel of the same name by Andy Weir. This is the category I think they have the biggest strength because the Movie focuses mainly on the central character who is alone most of the time. So all his interactions are not with other people, but his surroundings. This is the kind of scenario which could be very hard to handle as it could get monotonous or boring but to still create an engaging screenplay is definitely very credible.
Although the Movie did do well at the Golden Globes, I don't think it would do as well at the Oscars, purely because of the competition. Ridley Scott is a fine Director and he truly has made a Good and Entertaining Movie, but this is far from being his best work and therefore, his absence in the Best Director Nominations is justified.
Now, no review of The Martian would be complete without the mention of the soul of the movie, Matt Damon. We all know him as a fine actor and an intense action hero at times, but with this movie, he has truly outdone himself. Portraying the angst and hope of Mark with ease, he infuses a whole lot of Comedy as well, which breaks the tension of this hopeless situation that the character is in.
The Martian is far from being a classic. Gravity was honestly miles ahead of this film. But despite it's many flaws, it has a Huge Heart, and that keeps you engaged. I would rate The Martian 3.5/5.
It might not win many Oscars, but it's worth a watch.
Keep Reeling!
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