Ridley Scott has had a string of misses, so many that you can't even count with one hand. And that's bad for a director of his calibre.
Finally, The Martian has put his name back in favours with movie fans. But Scott needs perhaps another big hit to earn back the trust of his fans. Let's hope The Martian is his comeback movie.
The first 10 minutes wasted no time. Right out of the gate, it's like a rocket blasting off. Immediately we saw how Matt Damon's character got stranded. It's definitely the right way to start.
And even though this movie is close to two and a half hours long, it certainly didn't feel that way as the pacing was very even; and Scott's storytelling between Mars, Earth and the spaceship on its way home carrying the rest of Damon's crew was a masterclass.
What I was most impressed was the spirit of Damon's character that never said die. He remained calm and composed (not too difficult when you have lots of time on your hands with no other distraction) enough to solve problem by problem until he found the solution to delicately stay alive - long enough for help to come. His spirit was admirable, right until the end.
I loved the casting. Other than the crew which had the talents of Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara and Aksel Hennie; the big three back on Earth trying to "bring him home" was Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean. With Daniels a big hopeful for a Academy Award nomination.
One of the most ingenious writing was to have Bean make a not-so-subtle reference to one of his biggest movies that cracked me up so hard and so unexpectedly.
Donald Glover also provided many a light moment. Every time a scene cuts to him, he's always provided the humour.
The only one that I was quite baffled to be included in this movie was Kristen Wiig. Not that she didn't do what was required of her, but she stood out so much to me since I'm very familiar with her work. The casual movie-goer probably wouldn't know who she is and may not have this problem but to me, even when she's being serious, I kept expecting her to make a joke.
But to Damon's credit, he's created two very human scenes, one when he first made contact with Earth and another towards the end before the big finish; the humanity he brought was what made those scenes so powerful.
The long run-time was paid off with the last 15 minutes of the movie. Scott created an ending with such a high note that I couldn't even remember when was the last time I was so nervous in the cinema. And that scene with the rope twirling, it was a beautiful piece of art.
Could the movie had been shorter? Probably. But I really wouldn't mind if it went on for another 10 minutes.
I'm going to predict this movie to get nods for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and probably a few technical categories.
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