The Martian Review

The Martian

Release Date: 1st October 2015 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Scott Free Productions
TSG Entertainment (in association with)

Genre Films

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 141 minutes


Budget: $108,000,000

Box Office Gross: $630,620,818 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary

After being wounded in a dust storm on Mars, which nearly gets him killed, his crew leaves him when they assume the worst.

Astronaut Mark Watney struggles to survive in this hostile world devoid of intelligent life and must find a way to contact Earth and let them know he is still alive.

Cast

Matt Damon - Mark Watney

Jessica Chastain - Melissa Lewis

Kristen Wiig - Annie Montrose

Jeff Daniels - Teddy Sanders
Michael Peña - Rick Martinez
Kate Mara - Beth Johanssen

Sean Bean - Mitch Henderson
Sebastian Stan - Chris Beck
Aksel Hennie - Alex Vogel
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Vincent Kapoor
Donald Glover - Rich Purnell
Benedict Wong - Bruce Ng
Mackenzie Davis - Mindy Park
Naomi Scott - Ryoko
Nick Mohammed - Tim Grimes
Eddy Ko - Guo Ming
Shu Chen - Zhu Tao

Enzo Cilenti - Mike Watkins

Jonathan Aris - Brendan Hatch

Gruffudd Glyn - Jack

Geoffrey Thomas - U.S. President

Yang Haiwen - Chinese Flight Director

Tsogtsaikan Narantsogt - Wen Jiang

Charlie Gardner - Robert Lewis

Crew

Producer/Director - Ridley Scott

Based On the Novel "The Martian" - Andy Weir

Screenplay/Executive
Producer - Drew Goddard

Associate Producer - Teresa Kelly

Producers - Mark Huffam, Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer and Aditya Sood

Astronaut Advisor - Rudi Schmidt

Casting Directors - Carmen Cuba and Nina Gold

Production Designer - Arthur Max

Supervising Art Director - Marc Homes

Senior Art Director: Vehicles - Oliver Hodge

Senior Art Director - Robert Cowper

Art Directors - Mónika Esztán,

Jonathan Houlding, László Rajk,

Phil Sims, Stefan Speth, Mark Swain,

Matt Wynne, Jason Knox-Johnston and

Huw Arthur

Set Decorator - Celia Bobak

Costume Designer - Janty Yates

Makeup & Hair Designer - Tina Earnshaw

Director of Photography - Dariusz Wolski

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Mark Patten

Production Managers: Jordan - James Grant

and Fuad Khalil

Location Manager - Rudolf András

Location Managers: Jordan - Giles Edleston

and Saeb Abul Ragheb

Second Unit Director - Luke Scott
Stunt Coordinator - Rob Inch

Special Effects Supervisor - Neil Corbould

Special Effects Co-Supervisor - Steven Warner

Visual Effects Supervisor - Richard Stammers

Visual Effects Supervisors: MPC -

Anders Langlands and Tim Ledbury

Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore -

Chris Lawrence

VFX Shoot Supervisor - Matt Sloan

Visual Effects Producer - Barrie Hemsley

Visual Effects: ILM - Mohen Leo,

Cynthia Crimmins, Nina Fallon,

John Calloway, Timothy Trimmings,

Oliver Askew, Benjamin Charles,

Frank Dumont, David Kirchner,

Scott Pritchard, Claudio Bassi,

Carlos Conceicao, Sam Hanover,

Gordon Marshall, Hantong Tang, Conor Byrne,

Sonia Contreras, Rose Keane, Luca Mignardi

and Kristopher Whitford

Digital Supervisor: The Senate - James D. Fleming

Animation Supervisor: MPC - Greg Fisher

Virtual Production Supervisor - Casey Schatz

Film Editor - Pietro Scalia

Co-Editor - Valerio Bonelli

Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer -

Oliver Tarney

Sound Designer - Michael Fentum

Production Sound Mixer - Mac Ruth

Re-Recording Mixer/Sound Effects Editor -

Mark Taylor

Re-Recording Mixer - Paul Massey

Music - Harry Gregson-Williams

Orchestration & Choir Recordist & Mixer -

Peter Cobbin

Review

With the combined talents of director Ridley Scott and actor Matt Damon, this film takes audiences on an intriguing journey through the reddish dry landscapes of the planet Mars. Other movies rarely attempted this setting. Be that as it may, features set on the red planet were unsuccessful, as these cinematic misfires include John Carter, Red Planet and Mars Needs Moms, which tanked at the box office.

I would be disappointed if I missed seeing THE MARTIAN on the big screen, though it isn't without its faults. THE MARTIAN manages to tell a compelling story about facing survival and isolation. I describe it as similar to Cast Away but in a space setting. It successfully immersed viewers into a real-life scenario on Mars, where materials are scarce, and the terrain is harsh and unforgiving. The film isn't always dark and depressing. Some of its lighthearted moments make the characters more human and authentic.

Matt Damon was great for the role and is as convincing as the stranded astronaut Mark Watney. In his portrayal, he creates a real connection with the audience. You're hoping for his survival and care about what happens to him. You will be glued to the screen to discover the conclusion. The rest of the ensemble cast, including Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain and Sean Bean, aren't up to Damon's standards, but they are themselves proven worthy of their place in this film.

THE MARTIAN is nearly as good as Ridley's other hit movies, and in fact, this could be his most compelling work after Alien and Blade Runner. This movie has a long-running time of two hours and 20 minutes due to its high-quality editing. You'll never get bored at any point during the film. Finally, this movie will have lasting value and is good to watch.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

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