The Martian

Last night my family went to the first screening of The Martian and we all absolutely loved it!  The book seriously blew me away and the movie is an incredible adaptation!  Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is an astronaut with the Ares 3 expedition on Mars.  During a sand storm he is seriously injured and the rest of the crew, thinking that he is dead, initiates an emergency evacuation leaving him behind.  He uses science and his own ingenuity to survive and eventually contacts NASA to formulate a plan for his rescue involving his former crew, now orbiting Mars.  To say that this movie is intense would be an understatement!  I was on the edge of my seat and holding my breath most of the time (and I had read the book!).  This movie also has a lot of comedic moments as well, particularly involving Watney's use of expletives.  The entire cast of NASA engineers and astronauts, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, and Michael Pena, is outstanding but Damon gives a tour de force performance!  At various times he had me laughing, crying, and cringing (he had to treat his own rather serious wound).  I was literally crying when he established contact with NASA for the first time.  The cinematography is breathtaking with incredible long shots of the barren landscape on Mars.  The sound design is spectacular and I was particularly struck by the sound of Watney's breathing.  I also loved the soundtrack (one of the astronauts left behind an extensive collection of disco).  I think the screenplay is very faithful to the source material.  The book does go into a lot more detail about the actual science of what Watney is doing but its omission does not detract at all.  Some events during Watney's journey to the MAV in the Schiaparelli Crater are also left out but, again, it doesn't lessen the dramatic impact of what he goes through.  I loved it! I really, really loved it and I would highly recommend it!