Getting stranded on another planet probably won’t happen to most of us, but it's pretty interesting to see what would happen if it did. “The Martian” is, as far as I know, a pretty good depiction of what would happen (assuming that we were smart as Matt Damon’s character in this film). “The Martian” is directed by Ridley Scott, who directed other great sci-fi films such as “Alien” and “Prometheus,” so people were expecting a lot from him when he started directing this movie, and he does a great job doing so. This movie also has an all star cast, which is honestly an understatement. Actors such as Matt Damon, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jessica Chastain star in “The Martian,” and I would list the others, but there is way too many superstar actors to list off!
The movie begins when the crew of Ares III is exploring Mars and a storm hits. Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), who is the commander of the mission, decides that her crew is in jeopardy and that they have to leave the planet. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind because he is presumed to be killed during the storm that hits. Once the crew leaves, we find that Matt Damon is actually alive, and he has to find out how to live on Mars with the supplies that he has remaining with him all while NASA has to figure out how to get him back to Earth.
The casting in this film is beyond phenomenal to say the least. It’s kind of like stacking a sports team up with all stars; you know the movie is going to be good. Matt Damon delivered a very believable performance as Mark Watney. His acting makes you really want the character to survive on Mars, and you do end up rooting for him throughout the movie. He also manages to be very funny throughout the stressful situations that he gets put into during the movie.
A lot of the actors and actresses in this film also deliver stellar performances, as to be expected from actors of this caliber. Their acting was so good that their characters make you want them to succeed when trying to figure out how to save Mark Watney. The only gripe I had with the casting was that I wanted to see more of Donald Glover, otherwise known as Childish Gambino. He didn’t really have a big role, but I loved how quirky his character was, so it would have been interesting to see more of him in the movie.
I would say that this movie was very entertaining to watch. It does a good job of balancing suspenseful moments with comedy and exposition throughout. The casting is phenomenal, and acting was great as well. It’s interesting to see how Matt Damon’s character tries to get out of the situations he gets put in, all while seeing all of Earth try to figure out how to save the guy. I don’t want to make any early predictions, but I honestly think that this movie could get nominated for an Oscar. I would definitely recommend seeing this, and give the movie a rating of 88%.
