(Movie) I need some space....a look at the Martian

When it comes to watching movies, I have two rules.

1: Anything surrounding hype is not to be watched until the hype has died down. (I've still yet to see Frozen)

2: Pick movies based on the story, not on the cast in the movie.

This movie is the first in which I've broken the rules I've set for myself. 

Why?

Let's review! 

Story/ Dialogue: The story follows a crew on a mission to Mars. One of the crew is presumed dead and left behind on the red planet after the crew had to leave abruptly. This crew member, Mark Watney (Matt Damon), must survive a certain amount of solar days until NASA can get him home.

This is a classic tale of man vs. nature. What's interesting however is that it cuts between Earth, the Hermes (the ship that the rest of the crew are on,) and Mars. Everybody has their own way of handling the situation. Teddy Sanders, played by Jeff Daniels, is trying to not cause a panic and doesn't want to tell the crew, because he wants them to focus on the mission.

Meanwhile, Mark needs to find a way to grow food while everyone finds a way to get him back.

Arguably the best thing about this movie is Mark's determination to survive. He tackles the task with humour and a plucky, can-do attitude. It makes you want to root for him and make sure he gets home.

The other thing is the tension. This guy is in space, so making sure he doesn't suffocate is the top priority. Even though the situations are different, the tension only increases. I was literally on the edge of my seat by the climax of this film.

The dialogue is snappy and a lot of it makes you laugh. There's even a few references in there to satisfy your inner geek.

Cinematography: You and I have seen deserts. Sandy with a couple of rocky mountains, right? Well, if you add a filter, you can make it look like Mars. I know this probably sounded sarcastic in your head, but it was actually praise. They resolved the challenge of making a desolate place interesting. With all the sweeping shots, you really get this sense of isolation. The framing is well composed and nothing looks visually boring. 

One of the better parts about the visuals is that you couldn't tell what was green screened and what wasn't. I mean, the space scenes were (or were they? CONSPIRACY!) but the rest of the scenes look liked they'd been shot in the same place Mad Max: Fury Road was shot.

Seriously though, fantastic visuals and framing.

Audio: I love how a lot of the music tied into the story. It added humour and an extra layer of suspense to the overarching story. What's more is that I really enjoyed how balanced the sounds, dialogue and music were well balanced. None of them seemed to overtake the others, which I really liked. 

The score had an tension raising element with some electronica flowing throughout which I really enjoyed.

Overall: The Martian is a movie best seen from the edge of your seat. Not only is there a fantastic cast, there's more funny moments to outweigh the crap (if you've seen the movie, you'll understand the pun,) Mark gets into. 

It's well worth the watch and is one of my picks for best movies of 2015. 

Which is also why it warrants a Ravensmark (Picture pending,) a symbol for movies, comics and books of the highest calibre. 

Thus ends this review.