Really really good.

This is an absolutely phenomenal movie. Exciting, funny, crowd-pleasing and ultimately incredibly hopeful. It reminds me of the kinds of blockbusters I grew up watching. I really appreciated how intelligent every character in this movie was and how for the most part it doesn't stick to conventions of the genre. Almost everyone involved in the proceedings is inherently good and working towards the same common goal. Matt Damon gives an incredibly charismatic, lovable lead performance and it's impossible not to root for his character, who maintains an almost shocking level of optimism and humor throughout given what he is going through. He's the movie's anchor, but the cast assembled here is truly outstanding - with a who's-who of big names all getting small moments to shine. Jessica Chastain is also great and I loved her character's take charge attitude, as well as her major placement in the movie's incredibly intense finale. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean also shine. Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan and Kate Mara are somewhat underused but I still though all gave strong performances. This is Ridley Scott's best directorial effort in years - the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous as is the production design and he really allows the movie to breathe and move at a very natural pace. The ending is the kind that will make audiences want to stand up and cheer too. This is going to be a massive crowdpleasing four-quadrant hit without question. Easily one of the best movies of the year and one that is surely going to be in my top ten. A

I think audiences are going to be pleasantly surprised at how funny this movie is. A few lines and moments are absolutely hilarious, and the tone of this movie is so much more lighthearted than something like Gravity or Interstellar.

nobody that read the book is going to be surprised by the humour

I don't read books, sir.

#notsurprised

Saw this again today. Such a great, crowdpleasing film. I think it's impossible not to leave with a smile on your face.

Also Damon really is fantastic here. I love the moment right before he's launched into space during the rescue - it's the one time in the movie I think he really shows the character's vulnerability and terror in this situation.

Scott's best film since Alien. Matt Damon has never been more likable and I just loved this movie. One of my favorite films of the year for sure.

A

As directed with characteristic technical muscle by Ridley Scott, The Martian is a big, confident, and highly proficient science-fiction adventure, but it left this viewer cold for the very reason it will electrify and enchant most. (I know mine will be a bit of a minority report.) Set on Mars, the film stars Matt Damon as an American astronaut and botanist who is presumed dead and left behind by his team during a sandstorm-precipitated evacuation. He comes to alone on the red planet and must utilize limited resources and his own scientific knowledge to survive. Meanwhile, on earth, the men and women at NASA race to formulate a viable rescue plan and debate whether or not to tell the protagonist's homeward-bound team members, including a captain played by Jessica Chastain, of his plight.

With great insistence and sentimental zip, The Martian banishes nearly any hint of Cast Away- or All Is Lost-style despair or existential dread. Lest we spend too much time with one man existing quietly in one place, it cuts to the spaceship or rooms crowded with exposition-and-jargon-spouting NASA civil servants. Mars as played by a desert in Jordan is gorgeous, but it is also portrayed as conquered and normalized, without any aura of cosmic danger or mystery. (During his plentiful voice-over video diaries, Damon's character notes his almost every act or gesture represents a first on the planet, but this moment comes and goes, generating no awe.) Pop-music cues are frequent and too adorable by half, including "Starman" by David Bowie and "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.

The Martian in general adheres to a very strict rhythm and structure. A problem arises. One or more characters squint for a moment, then put forth a solution with a smile, a one-liner, and a nod of job-well-done satisfaction. The film is in love with pragmatic, go-for-it, no-big-deal, science-is-the-best problem solving, and it is neat for a while (my favorite scenes involve the invention of Martian gardening), but the strained uplift began to weigh upon and wither the cynic in me. Too much goes right too easily. It is too infused with an earnest apple-pie determination divorced from chaos and grit. A slightly bloated length in general does not help.

On the plus side, Scott is a top-notch craftsman and set-piece conjurer, and he decently shapes high-tech procedure into bite-sized, attractively composed morsels of cinema. And Damon delivers a charismatic and committed lead performance with an intense physical component. He is encircled by a range of A-list-or-near-it faces, including Chastain, Sean Bean, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Mara, and Kristen Wiig, though none of their characters are well-drawn. They are awarded no level of idiosyncrasy, no sense of plot-transcending agency, and as a result, there is a wealth of acting competency on display, but no standout side player.

C+

My primary issue with The Martian is nicely encapsulated by its inability to end with Damon's rescue or even his problem-solving-is-the-best speech in the classroom.

No, it has to have this sitcom-feeling and-here-is-everyone-else montage over the credits. Might as well be set to "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." This seemed very un-Ridley to me. As did much of the film, to be honest.

Definitely better than Gravity (technically great, but not really entertaining for me) and Interstellar (reached too far and got weird at the end). I was interested in the characters in Martian, loved the performances (Damon is fantastic), and the movie looked great.

A-

So I absolutely loved this. Probably even more than Andy Weir's novel, which I already enjoyed tremendously. The Martian is a rousing, rollicking, feel-good ode to the power of science and ingenuity. After several major miscalculations (The Counselor, anyone?), Ridley Scott has made his best movie since Gladiator here, and the film is simply smart, refreshing entertainment that, not to be cliched, reminds you why we go to the movies. Matt Damon carries the movie with aplomb in likely the most likable performance of his career. The movie would not work without someone able to play Watney's gallows humor and drive to stay alive. The eclectic supporting cast is also superb, although this is clearly Damon's movie. A

the ending is terrible

Best scene had to be Mark's terror during the storm on the HUB with a plastic tarp over a massive opening in it.

Funniest scene was the Project Elrond meeting with Boromir actually being present.

Project Elrond!!!

The funniest scene was Bruce describing to Vincent how MAV 4 would need to be modified.

"he hasn't even gotten to the bad part yet"

Ya, that was pretty great. Also a clever way of staying true to Mark's language despite a PG-13 rating.

"Then let's get to the bad part!"

If you couldn't tell, I loved this movie. A+, saw it with my uncle last night and he said it was probably the best space movie he's ever seen.

My only issue is I had to pee really bad with about 30 minutes left so I wasn't 100% focused towards the end.

Why does Michael Pena hate his family so much?

****½ (A)

And it has the best use of music in any film in recent memory.

True. Playing "I will survive" over the end credits was a genius move.

While striving admirably to capture the essence of the book, the movie left me a bit cold. It's a fun story, and one that translates very well to film (the book itself screamed screenplay), but Scott's direction was disappointingly ho-hum. I never felt terribly invested in Mark's plight, though Damon did his best to imbue the character with the same humorous bravado-bordering-on-desperation displayed in the book. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast was unanimously average, and the movie was mostly lacking in emotional cues that might've helped me invest more sympathy.

This movie is nowhere near the level of Gravity or Interstellar, both of which had my heart absolutely POUNDING and crying out for the characters. Literally cried multiple times in each of those two movies. The Martian? nada. The final rescue mission was the only thing that bordered on real excitement, and even that felt rather flat. Still, a good story and a pretty good time at the cinema.

B

It's perfectly serviceable entertainment and the most well made film that has come from Ridley Scott since American Gangster, but even saying all that I still wasn't that crazy about it either. Matt Damon's character is likeable enough and he does a solid job performance wise, but he knows almost everything and it gets to a point where despite the fact that this guy is stranded on Mars with no real hope of being rescued anytime soon there isn't a lick of danger or tension. I have to agree with David that a lot of it feels like a really upbeat sitcom that's played very safe and in a movie like this that's suppose to be an against the elements survival story it just doesn't work IMO. I mean what's the point in rooting for this character to get back home if there is never any danger involved even when he blows himself up twice. The stakes were so low here and while it may be more accurate in terms of following the novel I really wish Scott could have made some changes considering this is from the same guy who gave us Alien and has proven time and time again that he knows how to handle grit/tension.