The crew leaves Mark and Mars in the dust, but Mark comes to, and manages to communicate with Mission Control that he is alive. Mark resourcefully stays alive by interesting means (a la Bear Grylls) while Mission Control alerts the crew on the way back to Earth.
No Man Left Behind! With the help of an oddball mix of scientists (think Big Bang Theory), the crew circles back for a daring rescue mission, at great personal odds and sacrifice.
It's hard to dislike the FX of a space movie. But dialogue was a bit trite, lots of attempts at witty banter, and it comes out like a text message movie. [typing].... "He said...." [laughter] Well tell him.... [typing] Mark reads it [laughter] [repeat] [repeat]....
A good cast with Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, helps this good show but it turns out a bit manufactured. The end of these movies can only be all bad (2001 - A Space Odyssey) or the opposite. Spoiler.... this one does have a happy ending.
* * * of 5
I have to agree with this review but I was expecting an entertaining movie going in since the director is Ridley Scott. His previous movies about space, Blade Runner, Aliens and Prometheus, are great to watch but not as well done as Gravity or Interstellar. In the latter movies, space, dimensions, nature are forces that the protagonist fights against and in The Martian that was not present. The banter or exchanges between characters were the ones meant to create the tension but it was spoon fed to the audience with trite exchanges like the ones you mention or immediate warnings before a scene (eg., when Jeff Daniels states "Let's hope nothing goes wrong" and then Damon's character loses pressure in the ante-chamber). If it wasn't for the great book it was adapted from, this movie would have not been as interesting, but it does provide for some good acting from Damon, Chastain and Ejiofor.
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