Matt Damon stars in the new hit movie called THE MARTIAN.
The film has already earned well over 100 million dollars at the box office, but our critic says it’s not quite as good as he expected it to be.
Here’s Terry’s Take.
There’s a lot to like about THE MARTIAN directed by Ridley Scott.
It’s a very well made, well acted, and very optimistic movie plus it’s more scientifically accurate than any other science fiction film I’ve seen.
But THE MARTIAN is also formulaic. It’s pretty easy to predict the outcome, and at two hours and twenty two minutes, the movie feels about half an hour too long.
Voice in storm: Commander! Are you OK?
Caught in a wind storm on Mars, the crew of the Hermes spacecraft scrambles to reach their ship.
But Matt Damon as Mark Watney is struck down by heavy debris and he’s presumed dead.
Even as the news of his demise is spread all over the earth, Mark regains consciousness on the red
planet and makes his way to the space lab his crew has established there.
Although he has no way of communicating with NASA, he begins recording a video log.
Mark: This’ll come as quite a shock to my crew mates and to NASA and to the entire world, but I’m still alive…Surprise.
Here’s the rub. It’s gonna be four years for another mission to reach me and I’m in a lab that’s designed to last 31 days so I gotta make water and grow food on a planet where nothing grows.
For an injured man trapped on an alien world, Mark is Mr. Optimistic. His “can-do” self-reliance is amazing. In fact, this movie is a celebration of American ingenuity.
Mark even figures out a way to contact NASA.
NASA worker: I’ve got an incoming message. (It’s a video image of a home made sign.)
Meanwhile, Mark’s crew mates (who are on their way back to earth) haven’t been told that he’s alive, because the head of NASA (played by Jeff Daniels) doesn’t want them to attempt a rescue.
NASA director: I’m not risking their lives. It’s bigger than one person.
An astronaut: No, it’s not.
But when the crew led by Jessica Chastain as Melissa finds out what’s going on, they decide to act anyway.
Melissa: NASA rejected the mission.
Crew member: So if we do this?
Melissa: We’re talking mutiny…Anything goes wrong, we die.
So far THE MARTIAN has been extremely popular with critics and audiences alike.
But in spite of its many virtues, for me, this movie was a little boring to sit through.
Terry Hunter, Hawaii News Now.