Movie Review: ‘The Martian’

Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott team up for a new sci-fi adventure about an astronaut stranded, all alone, on the planet Mars. Time Warner Cable News film critic Neil Rosen filed the following review of "The Martian."

During a manned mission to Mars, a strong storm forces a NASA crew to hastily blast off from the red planet, leaving one, presumed dead, member of the team behind. But astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, was just knocked unconscious and is very much alive

Now, all alone, he has to fend for himself on an uninhabitable planet. He has to somehow make contact with NASA, which is no easy task, to let them know he is still up there.

However, even if makes contact with Earth, it might take years for a rescue mission to reach Mars. So with his rations dwindling, he has to figure out a way to survive and grow food on a planet where nothing grows.

Structurally, in many ways, it is like the movie "Cast Away" set in outer space. Instead of Tom Hanks talking to a soccer ball, Damon makes repeated video logs during the time he is stranded. Many of these entries are peppered with light humor, which Matt Damon, who's very appealing here, pulls off perfectly. In addition, that mild, comedic tone makes the film quite engaging.

Director Ridley Scott, who also did the movie "Alien," knows a thing or two about making a movie set in outer space. He has some terrific actions scenes here and visually, the wide panoramic vistas of Mars are stunning.

However, the film clocks in at close to two and half hours and there were just too many different attempts to rescue this guy. These elaborate plans are filled with complicated technical jargon and at about an hour and 45 minutes in, one way or the other, I felt they should have wrapped things up.

It is intelligent and highly entertaining for a while, but if they cut a half an hour out of this film, it would have been great. Now, it is just good, and wears out its welcome.

Still, it is a lot of fun for a while, the supporting cast including Jessica Chastain, Kristin Wiig and Jeff Daniels are good and overall it is worth seeing.