The Martian

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The Martian stars Matt Damon as an astronaut who is left behind on Mars by his crew after he seemingly dies in an accident caused by a storm on the planet's surface. In my opinion, this is the best film Ridley Scott has made since, probably, American Gangster. The movie has an awesome supporting cast, that includes Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The movie really is anchored by Matt Damon's incredible lead performance. Something I didn't really expect was how funny the movie was. I mean that in a good way too, you laugh at Matt Damon's sarcastic, deadpan delivery because you're supposed to. Ridley Scott's direction really works, and the script is incredibly tight. At points the movie does drag on a little, and some things probably could've been whittled down a touch. The plus side to this is that it never got to the point I lost interest. I would say the last five minutes could've easily been cut out. The whole movie kept me interested in what was going on, and I liked the talks of how these scientists were coming up with plans to save the main character. I also liked the explanations the main character gives for how he can survive, and how he goes about surviving for as long as he possibly can. Despite a couple minor issues I had with the movie, I really liked it, and I would definitely recommend The Martian to anybody who may be interested.

9 / 10