The Martian

In the space of three years comes a third major sci-fi hit that may not be all that much science fiction. By contrast, it's the blockbuster approach that works best, the hallmark of Scott's unmistakable craft confidence that last affected me this way 14 years ago. Sure, Goddard loses the plot a fair bit at the end, but the celebration of human knowledge and indomitable will is literally palpable through the screen for the vast majority of the runtime. I don't think anyone else will conjure up such feel-good emotions this year. 4 ½. PS: It's nice to see a Ridley Scott film in the movie theater that doesn't make you cry after watching it that you have to wait for the DC Blu-ray to fully appreciate it. PPS: I felt full satisfaction after the second screening. It actually works even at the end. A better "feel-good" film than Love Actually. (10/18/2015)

This seemingly unfilmable collection of technical details and sarcastic monologues became surprisingly easy to adapt in Drew Goddard's hands. Albeit at the cost of simplifying or even completely omitting Mark's struggles with producing air, water, or stone inscriptions, meaning that his fate in the first half is not really something to worry about. However, in the end, where after all the disasters and crises the source material merely struggled, the effort to rescue the main protagonist turns into a strongly graduated symbiosis of all involved. The main triumphs are surprisingly not the great Matt Damon, but Sean Bean perfectly cast as Mitch and especially the entire crew of the Hermes, led by Jessica Chastain. (10/15/2015)

An honestly-filmed blockbuster, and one of those rare cases where the creation of a blockbuster is justified. The Martian tries to appear serious, but you won't find any stargates or, heaven forbid, lightsabers in it. Ridley Scott works on a realistic depiction of the environment and tries to be technologically convincing. In a sense, it is Scott's return to his roots - this is how Prometheus should have been and then it wouldn't have ended up as a silly pop culture mishmash. The captivating beauty of the landscape of the red planet, endless space, and a lonely hero in the midst of nothingness. Thanks to its visual aspects, the film has a captivating atmosphere and the director skillfully doses tension. However, I did not actually feel any enthusiasm. The stranded astronaut is, in fact, a skillful follower of Ferdy the Ant. He goes through the story too confidently, as if he were always in control. Add a few lines, and he would appear like Bruce Willis in Die Hard. At the moment when Mark takes a piece of metal from a shattered wound, one would expect a storm of juicy curses, and, at other times a wave of despair, doubt, and confusion. It was simply lacking a piece of humanity. Matt Damon does not act badly, nor does anyone else, but there was something missing to make me relate to the characters. Maybe they seemed too clean, almost textbook perfect. The runtime is just right, and Scott knows when to cut the shot and not bore the audience. Americans, as usual, show that they are the best, but this time in an acceptable form. And the Russians have been replaced by the Chinese - clear proof of whom Hollywood considers the second superpower of today. I'm not crazy about The Martian, but overall, thumbs up, the film has the potential to become a sci-fi classic. Overall impression: 85%. (10/12/2015)

The Martian surprised me by not being about atmosphere and philosophizing, but about people and the joy of telling a positive story. It also offers a pool of inspirational ideas for emerging film editors. Matt Damon is great and Jeff Daniels got a good role after a long time. It is a pity that the movie has a weaker climax, which in the long shadow of Gravity has no chance to impress. If you compare The Martian to Prometheus, however... Ridley is still a champ. He just needs a good script. (10/06/2015)

It’s been a long time since I’ve had to pause the movie and think about how I don’t want Matt Damon to stop colonizing Mars. I get that it’s mental to live there for some time, but apart from him doing well in the beginning, he had some really ironic and cynical remarks, which only made the movie better. Now I’m not even surprised that it won Best comedy at the Golden Globes. The award might be as cynical as Mark Watney, but who cares. The Martian is an absolutely amazing, realistic sci-fi movie and its story flows in a completely logical way. All while the story was written for a blog; that’s how far this sort of an enthusiastic expression can go. (02/28/2016)