"Houston, we have a winner!
"Director Ridley Scott bounds back with this thrilling adaptation of the Andy Weir novel about a NASA astronaut, Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who's stranded on Mars and must find his way back to Earth. He hopes to do this through scientific know-how (he's a botanist and engineer), as well as the combined efforts of the crew that left him behind and the brainpower down in Houston.
"Basically, it's Saving Private Ryan (which also starred Damon) all over again, with a sense of humour and a bit of MacGyver ingenuity. Oh, and lots of 70s disco tunes.
"Drew Goddard's screenplay remains faithful to Weir's novel while adding some context and emotional beats, with Damon capturing Mark's cockiness but also adding some much-needed gravitas. Down on earth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean succeed in imparting lots of info, while up in space Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara and others have less to do but look cool doing it. Exciting and visually stunning...Take science classes, kids." - NOW Toronto
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