An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team
assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal
to Earth that he is alive.
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Drew Goddard (screenplay), Andy Weir (book)
Stars: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig | See full cast & crew »
Storyline
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. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return.User Reviews
Having read the book,
and being very impressed, I was looking forward to the movie
interpretation. I was not the least bit disappointed. I was hoping this
movie would not be an overacted, overproduced and sappy version of the
original, and I was pleasantly surprised that the story played out
without the overblown extraneous embellishment that Hollywood seems to
depend on so often.
It was great to see how the screenplay added extra material that was not in the book, and it enhanced the story to make it even better. The characters were interpreted with full respect to the intention of the author, Andy Weir, and nothing was overdone. The pacing and editing of this movie was some of the best I've seen, in fact, some of the one-liners from the book are done so quickly it pushed the story forward relentlessly.
One thing that struck me is that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and I think that could be a testament to the originality and uniqueness of the book. I believe anyone who reads the book is captivated and involved with the story from beginning to end, and it's possible this comes across in all phases of the production; the acting, the sets, sound, everything. They all knew they had some great material to work with and ran with it.
It was great to see how the screenplay added extra material that was not in the book, and it enhanced the story to make it even better. The characters were interpreted with full respect to the intention of the author, Andy Weir, and nothing was overdone. The pacing and editing of this movie was some of the best I've seen, in fact, some of the one-liners from the book are done so quickly it pushed the story forward relentlessly.
One thing that struck me is that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and I think that could be a testament to the originality and uniqueness of the book. I believe anyone who reads the book is captivated and involved with the story from beginning to end, and it's possible this comes across in all phases of the production; the acting, the sets, sound, everything. They all knew they had some great material to work with and ran with it.
