Is it just me, or are we being presented with an awful lot of beautiful films about being alone in space? With recent releases like 'Interstellar' and 'Gravity', I can't help but think we as a race are being prepared for some sort of terrifying eventuality. My conspiracy theories aside, why are we loving these kind of films so much at the moment?
In the latest to hit our screens, 'The Martian', Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is an astronaut who is living and exploring Mars as part of a six-man NASA mission. A huge storm forces an emergency evacuation of the planet, and when Mark gets struck by a piece of debris he is left behind, assumed dead. Unluckily for him, he's far from dead and must figure out how to survive on an unsurvivable planet. Time to science the shit out of his situation.
SWITCH: 'THE MARTIAN' TRAILER 2
Matt Damon is surprising charismatic in the role of Watney; without such a performance, the film would not have been nearly as engaging as it was. It's pretty much resting solely on his shoulders. Ridley Scott loves space - this is nothing new - but there is a developing trend of solitary space expeditions at the moment that is truly freaking me out. I will keep my feet firmly planted on the planet, thank you very much!
A graceful and delightful humour permeates the whole film - a combination of a wonderful and complex script, the performances and, most importantly, the music. The captain of the mission left her laptop behind on Mars and (fortunately for us) she listened exclusively to disco music. This sets up some delightfully cheeky moments in the film, culminating with one final song... but I don't want to give too much away with this. Let's just say it proves that, even if you're stuck on another planet, you can't escape the Eurovision Song Contest!
A graceful and delightful humour permeates the whole film - a combination of a wonderful and complex script, the performances and, most importantly, the music.
'The Martian' really has something for everybody. The action is edge-of-your-seat, all the way through. You're constantly gasping or gripping something tightly and it's wonderful! Usually I'm rather nonplussed about 3D in movies, yet I think for space movies that it just works. 'Gravity' wouldn't have been the same unless you felt like you could float away, and it's the same with 'The Martian'. I'm a sucker for crowd scenes as they rally behind our hero and watch his every move; they always stir up something in me, and it's no different with 'The Martian'. It's almost unimaginable to think how it would feel to literally have the whole world behind you!
It's hard to fault this film - it's a joy from start to finish. Funny, dynamic and heartwarming, you'll be on the edge of your seat the whole time - just hold on tight... you're in for a hell of a ride!