The Martian

This movie gives us an original and intriguing look of what Mars would look like up close with humans landing, exploring, and attempting to colonize the red planet. The cinematography and special effects are well done to show the hostility of the red planet’s environment and space in general. I also enjoyed the occasional humour thrown into the plot to lighten the seriousness of the situation. However, the story itself was too unrealistic. Despite trying to show the viewer what Mars would be like to live on it, there was quite a bit of exaggerated science here for effect. In addition, many aspects of the space travel part of the story were highly improbable. The film promotes human ingenuity, cooperation, and the belief in one self can accomplish anything despite unsurmountable odds which is extremely stretched and very naïve given the target audience is supposed to be adults. Overall, I found the theme of the story similar to the movie “Gravity” - basically, a movie that tries to tell viewers how realistic what you are watching is despite the science, probabilities, and other variables in the equation saying the opposite. The film also feels if I you are watching a sci-fi version of “MacGyver”. Overall, this movie is entertaining but over-hyped and self-indulging.