3D THE MARTIAN

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. —IMDB

THE MARTIAN is based on the bestselling book of the same name written by Andy Weir. The book was brilliant! While the movie follows the book faithfully, the movie doesn’t quite live up to the book in my view. I found the book more suspenseful than the movie. But the movie is still a very worthwhile outing! The characters are great with all of the cast giving excellent performances. Matt Damon, in the lead role as Mark Watney, stranded on Mars, brings his usual professionalism to the role and conveys the necessary humour in a what is a terrifying situation. However, THE MARTIAN needed to be more gritty and raw  for me – the whole thing seemed too nice and clean. The incredible stress, exhaustion and fear of being stranded alone on a planet conveyed in the book is not matched by the movie. The soundtrack is great, based on the favourite music of one of the mission astronauts left behind on Mars. There’s a bit of a lag in the middle. One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is the focus on the use of science in solving the problems of survival in favour of sensationalism or over-the-top patriotism. The cinematography is very good and worth seeing in 3D. It’s a good piece of entertainment – but check out the book after seeing the movie.