During a manned mission to planet Mars, astronaut Mark Watney, played by the gifted Matt Damon, is believed to be dead after a fierce Martian storm and is left behind by his crew. Not long after, the audience is shockingly surprised to find out that Watney has survived, and is alone on the hostile red planet. However, life on Mars comes with its difficulties: the astronaut has meagre supplies so he is forced to make use of his botanical studies to subsist. Afterwards, he finds a way to communicate with his fellow colleagues at NASA and signal that he’s alive. On Earth, thankfully, international experts from USA and China work together to bring “the Martian” home safe and sound.

Mark Watney’s crew is composed by Commander Lewis (Jessica Chastain), Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara), Rick Martinez (Michael Peña), Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan) and Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie). This film also stars Jeff Daniels as Teddy Sanders, the director of NASA, and his team members: Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Bruce Ng (Benedict Wong), Mindy Park (Mackenzie Davis) and Rich Purnell (Donald Glover).

All in all, The Martian is a one of a kind must see science fiction movie that intricately embeds thought-provoking science, real controversial decision-making, and futuristic science applications humans have yet to develop. It captivates the audience and maintains the suspense with its controversial decision-making in space. I give this film 5 stars!

Martina Doria and Sílvia Meler