THE MARTIAN is a good movie. It's a cross between ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS and APOLLO 13, with dashes of GRAVITY, MAROONED and even, SOLARIS, tossed in. It's well made, well acted and heart-warming. What it isn't, is great (not surprisingly, it's already in the Top 150 movies of ALL time on imdb). And, the songs were cool even if they seem like outtakes from THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY soundtrack.

THE MARTIAN is so well done, that there is little to criticize on the surface. But, the underlying issue here is that there is NO suspense. We just know that a big studio blockbuster isn't going to have one of the most popular lead actors around to be left 'lost in space' (or worse). Further, even the crisis that do occur, seem to be surmountable much too easily. The movie even sets up a perfect conflict point when the crew of the rescue ship has to make a choice on whether to go ahead. Pfft. It's all agreed to in a minute or two. Where's the drama in that? (and, the less said about the risible 'mutiny' the better) And, the big scientific breakthrough that gets teased along for half an hour as if it were the equivalent of Einstein's Theory of Relativity? Really? Using a planet's (or moon's) gravity to accelerate? That's been a concept that's been around since the 1960s!!

Don't get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed THE MARTIAN and even got a lump in my throat during the final rescue scenes. But, once it's over, there is nothing to chew on. To ponder. To speculate about. That's what truly separates a great sci-fi movie from a good one - BLADE RUNNER, 2001, PLANET OF THE APES etc.. People can rag on Christopher Nolan and INTERSTELLAR all they want for it's (admitted) flaws. But, a year later, and I'm still contemplating the mind-bending astrophysics and time-warp theories inbedded in it.

THE MARTIAN is well worth seeing. Just don't expect it to linger in the mind too long.

da_Bunnyman wrote on Oct 15^th, 2015 at 4:22pm:

I've said the same thing about other movies, and that we even have to consider that ticks me off.

Dug the movie a lot.  I understand some of the complaints about it, although it seems odd to be frustrated that a movie about smart people solving problems doesn't have the familiar sorts of manufactured drama.