The Martian


"This is space. It does not cooperate. At some point, everything's gonna go south on you. Everything's gonna go south and you're gonna say "This is it. This is how I end." Now, you can either accept that...or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem...then you solve the next one. And then the next. And if you solve enough problems, you get to come home."   - Mark Watney


release year: 2015
genre: science fiction
viewing setting: home Bluray 3/19/23 and 5/2/21 and 5/26/19 and 6/15/18 and 9/11/17 and 12/19/16 and 1/12/16

synopsis: After being accidentally left behind on Mars during an emergency departure, a lone astronaut must figure out how to survive for a long while, until he can be rescued.

impressions: This was a great movie. It's what I'd call realistic science fiction (meaning nothing too crazy) and it really captures what life might be like all alone on a distant planet, trying to survive against all odds. Multiple facets of the astronaut (determination, despair, ingenuity, humor) are shown, mostly through him recording footage of himself for posterity. I don't want to give too much away - just see it.

acting: Matt Damon does a great job as the stranded lead character. Jeff Daniels is the NASA chief who's kind of an asshole. Sean Bean and Chiwetel Ejiofor are more helpful NASA officials. Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, and Kate Mara are among the crew who left him behind (and end up trying to rescue him.)

final word: Great, watchable science fiction drama.

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