The Martian (2015)

When a fierce and deadly storm occurs during an expedition on Mars, a crew member (Matt Damon) is hit by debris and sent flying. After an attempt to locate him proves futile, he is assumed dead and the mission's commander (Jessica Chastain) makes a decision to abort the mission and head for Earth. But he, in fact, survives. Based on the novel by Andy Weir, an alternate title for this could have been ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS if that title hadn't already been taken. I don't know how scientifically accurate the film is but it's a grand piece of entertainment. Frankly I'd lost interest in the output of director Ridley Scott after years of crap like GLADIATOR and PROMETHEUS but this may be his best film since THELMA AND LOUISE some 24 years ago (though to be honest I've skipped a lot of his stuff since then). Matt Damon does an excellent job, it's not easy acting in a vacuum and he spends the majority of the film by himself. The film lacks the grace and beauty of the best science fiction films like 2001 or even FORBIDDEN PLANET. But knowing Scott's filmography, I doubt that was uppermost in his mind. There's an excellent supporting ensemble, most of whom are overqualified for stuff like this. Among them Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean and Kate Mara. With Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Donald Glover and Mackenzie Davis.