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First Reviews for The Martian (dir. Ridley Scott; based on the book; Matt Damon)

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Z

ZackieChan

Member
Bregor said:
Although some of the criticisms that have been made in this thread would not be enough for me to consider the film bad, I don't think we can dismiss them out of hand. The posters are in the best position to know what flaws are important to them, and just because we do not agree does not invalidate their opinion.
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I would categorize "not enough tension/too much mild humor," "didn't like the 2 or 3 music montages that made sense within the film," and "not scientifically accurate enough" as "no fun allowed" posts. I don't think I'm wrong.

And I never said they're not entitled to their opinions. Just that their opinions make them sound like the humorless husks of human beings :p
 
LoveCake

LoveCake

Member
SmackDaddy said:
why does it need to have accurate science for you?
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It doesn't usually, however from the outset "they" said they were going to have all the correct science, i can forgive the
storm at the start, the tarp covering the top of the escape ship, but not the flying about like Iron Man punching a hole in a space suit so easily when it has been specifically designed to be as hard as possible to puncture & then fly about in space/high orbit using the escaping air as thrust, the fire extinguisher in Gravity was much more plausible for me, yes it is still very far fetched but much more plausible.

I don't see the point in striving for accurate science in a film only to throw in implausible / un-scientific things just to push the plot/story.

There were parts of the film where i was really rooting for Whatley, when he was "the first here/there" &
the world watching live
thinking this is what it would be like, just like with Apollo 13 the entire world was willing them to make it & all the time
Whatley is flying about in space like "Ironman" using a hole in his glove as a thruster
i really enjoyed the film & it is a good film, i just felt let down by a couple of inaccuracies, it would have been far better to just have the
escape module reach the necessary velocity & altitude for a rescue.
 
F

Fug Slanderson

Member
Is this still entertaining for those who've read the book? I liked the book quite a bit, but I feel like the movie could be boring since I already know what's going to happen.
 
S

sparky2112

Member
Fug Slanderson said:
Is this still entertaining for those who've read the book? I liked the book quite a bit, but I feel like the movie could be boring since I already know what's going to happen.
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I don't know...I enjoyed it just in terms of craft, visuals, production values, performances, etc. Maybe I'm weird that way.
 
obin_gam

obin_gam

Member
Fug Slanderson said:
Is this still entertaining for those who've read the book? I liked the book quite a bit, but I feel like the movie could be boring since I already know what's going to happen.
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I felt like those who havent read it would get MORE satisfaction from it. I mean - not knowing what they cut out or changed.
 
B

bananafactory

Banned
-griffy- said:
I would say it has much more in common tonally and stylistically (and really structurally) to Apollo 13 than it does to either Gravity or Interstellar, which people keep comparing it to. It's not nearly as sentimental or earnest as Apollo 13 though. The Martian has a more biting wit and contemporary feel to it, compared to the almost Norman Rockwell feel of Apollo 13. But they are definitely two movies of a type.
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Mengy said:
I love Apollo 13 too, and this actually compares extremely favorably to it. Both movies feel rather similar honestly, and that speaks volumes as one is a true story and one is pure fiction! In all honesty it's much more appropriate to compare The Martian to Apollo 13 rather than Interstellar or Gravity.
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Awesome stuff. Thanks!
 
V

Vault Dweller 111

Member
Man, I understand 'space movie' but I'm really not seeing a lot of similarities between Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian.

Martian was way more like Cast Away. Gravity I would compare more to a pile of cow manure.

Interstellar was by far my favorite of the three. But The Martian was a very good movie, I'd highly recommend it.
 
Monocle

Monocle

Member
I expected this movie to be bleak where it was hopeful, dull where it was engaging. Matt Damon nailed it. Ridley Scott nailed it. The whole film is infused with a wonderful humanity and sense of humor, without trivializing the drama of its survival story or cheapening the spirit of collaborative scientific ingenuity at its core. I didn't think I'd like The Martian nearly as much as I did.

Probably the best among the recent spate of space movies.
 
F

Freedom = $1.05

Banned
gravity was a wonderful spectacle but i didnt care for the characters or the writing. Kinda the same way i feel about the Martian, only there's less spectacle here to distract you from the parts of it that stink

i hate to say this but interstellar is the only of these three movies that i actually, really liked and i saw its twist coming from a mile away. i felt like it respected me as a viewer more than the other two films did, even if it too is flawed in spots.
 
L

Lord Virgin

Unconfirmed Member
Vault Dweller 111 said:
Gravity was fucking awful.
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Also loved Interstellar the most, but I enjoyed The Martian. Did not like Gravity.

Watched it again today, 6.5 this time around. Those scenes on earth really annoy me and hugely disappointed by the soundtrack after Interstellar last year (not fair I know). Had some issues with other things as well.

Love the fact that we at least get movies like this, more please.
 
S

sparky2112

Member
Freedom = $1.05 said:
gravity was a wonderful spectacle
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Well, yeah. For me, Gravity was a glorious 90-minute technical marvel, and that was enough. Again, maybe I'm weird because of that. Hell, I liked Suckerpunch (now THERE'S a movie GAF almost unanimously craps on); once I realized that the story, etc. was total crap, I just sat back and was wowed by the visuals. That's probably why I never follow kids movies anymore - I'm so busy ogling at all the animation the story just passes by.
 
B

Blue Ninja

Member
Just came back from seeing it. I expected something good, I got something better. Matt Damon really fucking nailed it, his character's sense of humor in the face of certain death was amazing.

It may not have been the most scientifically correct of all movies, but I enjoyed it all the same. Very well made.
 
L

Lyonaz

Member
Vault Dweller 111 said:
Gravity was fucking awful.
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Nah man, Gravity in the morning in an almost empty IMAX 3D theatre with the best seat where the whole screen fills up your vision is one of the best movie experiences I had. Almost felt like I was in space too.

That said, never got the Blu-ray though, I figured it's not the same on the home screen.
 
P

Pooya

Member
Disappointed there was no "one does not simply..." line from Sean Bean :(

The movie was beautiful and even the 'science' parts were in a way that were watchable for general audience that don't care but still enjoyable for people that do, sure it has its dumb moments still. Having read the book I liked the movie. fun/10
 
W

Warm Machine

Member
Just saw it in 3D Atmos. Brilliant film that was both character driven and tense as hell. Rarely a dull moment and crafted beautifully. Ridley and Damon nailed it.
 
S

SuperStiltzkin

Member
Just saw it last last night with family and watched it again tonight with a friend. Great movie. Was a little worried about the near 2 and a half hour runtime since these "stranded alone" movies tend to be slow and drag. But it was a well paced movie and I never felt it was too long, even the second time. It was also a lot more light hearted than I expected with a good amount of humor in there.

There were some great performances all around, but the only performance I didn't like was Donald Glover's. I get that he's supposed to be the quirky manic scientist archetype, but I thought his performance was too cartoonish with him going all wide eyed like in Community.
RUDE-Pharaoh-Troy.png
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Z

ZackieChan

Member
SuperStiltzkin said:
Just saw it last last night with family and watched it again tonight with a friend. Great movie. Was a little worried about the near 2 and a half hour runtime since these "stranded alone" movies tend to be slow and drag. But it was a well paced movie and I never felt it was too long, even the second time. It was also a lot more light hearted than I expected with a good amount of humor in there.

There were some great performances all around, but the only performance I didn't like was Donald Glover's. I get that he's supposed to be the quirky manic scientist archetype, but I thought his performance was too cartoonish with him going all wide eyed like in Community.
Click to expand...

He was awful. Literally the only thing I disliked in the film. Though I enjoyed the "explaining the alternate plan" scene.
 
C

Cindres

Vied for a tag related to cocks, so here it is.
SuperStiltzkin said:
Just saw it last last night with family and watched it again tonight with a friend. Great movie. Was a little worried about the near 2 and a half hour runtime since these "stranded alone" movies tend to be slow and drag. But it was a well paced movie and I never felt it was too long, even the second time. It was also a lot more light hearted than I expected with a good amount of humor in there.

There were some great performances all around, but the only performance I didn't like was Donald Glover's. I get that he's supposed to be the quirky manic scientist archetype, but I thought his performance was too cartoonish with him going all wide eyed like in Community.
Click to expand...

I thought his character was a bit... I don't know, unecessary? Like I feel anyone on the existing team could have done that, not sure it needed another character to come in and do that.

Also one thing that bugged me, the captain's whole "It was my fault, I left him behind". I knew she was going to say it, I knew it, but it felt really forced to me, and the next scene we see her she's over it anyway.
 
B

Blue Ninja

Member
SuperStiltzkin said:
There were some great performances all around, but the only performance I didn't like was Donald Glover's. I get that he's supposed to be the quirky manic scientist archetype, but I thought his performance was too cartoonish with him going all wide eyed like in Community.
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Yes! It reminded me way too much of that time when he impersonated Abed.
 
Z

ZackieChan

Member
Cindres said:
I thought his character was a bit... I don't know, unecessary? Like I feel anyone on the existing team could have done that, not sure it needed another character to come in and do that.

Also one thing that bugged me, the captain's whole "It was my fault, I left him behind". I knew she was going to say it, I knew it, but it felt really forced to me, and the next scene we see her she's over it anyway.
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You "knew" that she would say or feel something that is perfectly logical to feel if you're the commander of a mission that leaves someone behind? So did everyone else. I'm not sure how it was forced when it makes perfect sense.

And Glover's character exists because he is some kind of weird expert in astrodynamics that came up with something that others WOULDN'T come up with. But sure, his character could have been merged with the German guy or something. However, you'd probably have people here complaining about how the German guy's discipline wouldn't allow him to come up with that particular plan or something. Movie ruined.
 
L

lazygecko

Member
BTM said:
Yay or nay on 3D?
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This was the first film I watched in 3D, since it's pushing 2D out of all the reasonable screening times. Mostly I just found the 3D distracting and didn't really add much to the experience so much as it detracted from it. It's especially jarring near the edges of the screen where the limitations become evident, and this is especially bad if you rely on subtitles.
 
N

NIGHT-

Member
Just got done watching it. The 3D was very lacking and not needed, and this is coming from someone that loves 3D movies. The movie was fantastic, huge surprise to me! The trailers did nothing for me, even though I loved other scifi/space movies. I'd rank Interstellar>the Martian>Gravity.

Can't wait to own this one on Blu-Ray
 
L

lazygecko

Member
inm8num2 said:
Movie Science: The Martian
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The biggest inaccuracy, which doesn't even seem to be adressed in the video, would be the heavy radiation going through Mars' atmosphere making extended stays like that impossible. That, and storms not really being that hard on humans.

In spite of this the portrayal of the science is among the best I have ever seen in fiction. I like that even though some things are more in the realm of fantasy, it still taps into that kind of improvisation which actually occured in real events. Like that Russian cosmonaut who had to let air out of his suit since it ballooned up during the first ever space walk and couldn't fit in the airlock.
 
Y

y2dvd

Member
The only weird distraction for me is god damn that is one good looking space crew. I should be used to it by now. This is Hollywood after all lol.
 
Melon Husk

Melon Husk

Member
BTM said:
Yay or nay on 3D?
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Yay, it's boring without.

SuperStiltzkin said:
There were some great performances all around, but the only performance I didn't like was Donald Glover's. I get that he's supposed to be the quirky manic scientist archetype, but I thought his performance was too cartoonish with him going all wide eyed like in Community.
Click to expand...

Donald Glover stood out tonally.

y2dvd said:
The only weird distraction for me is god damn that is one good looking space crew. I should be used to it by now. This is Hollywood after all lol.
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Mindy would have been a better Johanssen.


The more I think of the movie the more run-of-the-mill it feels. Scott played it really safe. It's not a bad movie but I didn't feel emotionally connected until the epilogue (which was bangin', btw). Maybe I've become emotionally stunted but I think Ridley made a poor job of portraying the characters' feelings. The scenes where Watney was alone were really short.

PS. Poor Watney, must be jealous of Shaw;
only had a stapler to stitch his abdomen
 
D

Dougald

Member
Just saw this last night and as a fan of the book I enjoyed it. I felt like most of the changes from the book were reasonably well done
apart from the iron man ending, but it did make for more spectacle so I can understand the change
- and probably better in terms of pacing.

I actually enjoyed the 3D for once, too. It was very subtle but found it really gave depth to some of the Mars panoramas
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
This really is a great feel good movie. Something about not just one individual working to achieve something great, but many individuals working together to do something to save another. It's very human in that respect.
 
I

IndustryX

Member
Just wanted to drop in and say wow. This movie was a wonderful theatre experience. I saw it in an Atmos AVX thatre. The audio was excellent, the 3D visuals were great and the plot was pretty true to the novel. Solid acting, good pacing. Overall very enjoyable! I love space films. I enjoyed every minute of it. Probably my favorite theatrical release this year other than Mad Max.

Damon added just the perfect amount of humour in and Scott directed a great film. Will definitely buy this one when it releases on Blu Ray
 
M

Marion Cobretti

Member
Saw it last night.

It's not bad, but I didn't like it. Way too much of a feel good movie. If you had told me it was a Zemekis movie, with Ridley's production team, I would believe it.

That third act dragged on so hard too.
 
S

Spasm

Member
Dougald said:
Just saw this last night and as a fan of the book I enjoyed it. I felt like most of the changes from the book were reasonably well done
apart from the iron man ending, but it did make for more spectacle so I can understand the change
- and probably better in terms of pacing.

I actually enjoyed the 3D for once, too. It was very subtle but found it really gave depth to some of the Mars panoramas
Click to expand...
Does the book have the Chinese saving the day in it, or was that only shoehorned in so they could run the movie in China.
 
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