The Martian (2015)

"In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option, I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this."

The crew of the Ares III is a manned mission to Mars, led by Commander Melissa Lewis (Chastain).  The team are surprised by a serious storm that forces them to evacuate the planet in their ship, the Hermes.  During the evacuation, botanist Mark Watney (Damon) is struck by a piece of the ship and presumed dead.  The crew leave, and the next day Mark wakes up alone.  He manages to get inside the Hab and tend to his wounds.  He has few rations and no way to contact earth, so he decides to try to grow his own food.

Meanwhile, NASA and the crew mourn the loss of Mark.  Satellite planner Mindy Park (Davis) and mission director Vincent Kapoor (Ejiofor) discover Mark is still alive, and try to find a way to bring him home.  Mark and the team at NASA try to find a way to communicate.  Can he survive long enough to be rescued?


In 2011, Andy Weir self-published "The Martian" as an online serial.  The book was officially published in 2013 and quickly debuted on the New York Times Best Sellers List.  The book combines a compelling story, edge-of-your-seat action, and scientifically sound.  Due to the success of the book, the film rights were sold in 2013.

The screenplay by Drew Goddard stays faithful to the book, while making it a more cinematic story.  Goddard is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.  The cast is filled with likable actors.  Matt Damon is able to carry the film without needing others to play off of.  For most of the film he is alone, narrating his actions, and it never feels boring.  Damon is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.  The rest of the cast are convincing in their roles.

The film is nominated for 7 Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

I haven't read the Weir's novel yet, but look forward to checking it out.  An entertaining film.

The Martian (2015) 141 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon as Mark Watney
Jessica Chastain as Melissa Lewis
Michael Pena as Major Rick Martinez
Kate Mara as Beth Johanssen
Sebastian Stan as Dr. Chris Beck
Aksel Hennie as Dr. Alex Vogel
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor
Mackenzie Davis as Mindy Park
Sean Bean as Mitch Henderson
Jeff Daniels as Teddy Sanders
Donald Glover as Rich Purnell
Benedict Wong as Bruce Ng
Kristen Wiig as Annie Montrose
Eddy Ko as Guo Ming
Chen Shu as Zhu Tao