Four Stars or Less – ‘The Martian’: The best space film in decades

“I sure hope there are more food choices and more music choices than in the movie!” It was only later that, at the request of his fans, he released an Amazon Kindle edition that went on to sell 35,000 copies in three months and that’s how The Martian eventually caught the attention of publishers.

It is simply a good story told very well.

Regardless, when it comes to kids, this one is tough because I think “The Martian” is a truly inspiring film that will encourage students to take another look at math and science.

The sci-fi Matt Damon starer “The Martian” gained a massive opening over the weekend.

The three distinct settings – the planet Mars with its amazingly barren landscape, the spaceship Hermes with its crew in command of the actions around, and at times, ambiguously floating about and at the Space Mission on Earth – NASA and CNSA (China) – the film excels visually in each sphere. It was then Watney was faced with a critical question, does he give up or does he fight to survive.

Turns out, he managed to fearless the storm, and is very much alive. Mark does everything in his power to survive and uses his vast knowledge to piece together a plan in an attempt to get back home. He even digs up the Mars Pathfinder and modifies it for limited communication with Mission Control. The movie is based on a novel of the same name written by Andy Weir. It also bears a strong resemblance to another movie, 2000′s “Mission to Mars”.

“We used GoPro cameras in several of our biggest scenes in The Martian, and they really allowed us to capture not only the intensity and suspense of these moments, but also the intimacy of the characters themselves”, said Scott. Unlike Cast Away or other movies of its ilk, we split our time fairly evenly with Mark Watney and the team at NASA as they discover the truth of the matter. He’s never been better in a film.

Castaway and Duncan Jones’s Moon are other touchstones as Damon delivers a terrifically nuanced performance, showing the strains – physically and mentally -of his isolation. In this story of survival and tenacity, the problems are technical, not human; more than anything else, Ridley Scott’s beautifully-made film is 141 minutes of problem solving.

On this edition of River to River, Ben Kieffer sits down with astrophysicists, Steve Kawaler of Iowa State University and Jasper Halekas of the University of Iowa, along with retired NASA astronaut, Clayton Anderson, to discuss the accuracy and impact of films like The Martian. Matt Damon is fantastic in the film and readers shouldn’t allow their dislike for the star’s politics to keep them from seeing this wonderful movie.