Matt Damon stars as an astronaut left for dead on the planet Mars. As it turns out, he is not dead, but by the time he comes to consciousness, his space shuttle, crew, and capability to communicate with NASA are long gone. The Martian is part Castaway, part Gravity and part MacGuyver, but is it a film for you? Here's why you should jump aboard:
1. The Martian is more Sci than Fi. 
photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
When astronaut Mark Watney realizes he doesn't have enough supplies to survive, he tells his video diary "I'm going to have to science the s**t out of this." And, so he does, flexing his brain muscle in the most impressive of ways. What's more exciting is that NASA worked hand in hand with director Ridley Scott's team to create authenticity, and in doing so, reveal actual technologies NASA is developing for a real mission to Mars.
2. The Martian is realistic. 
photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
While Star Wars and "Star Trek" have operated as an unintentional recruiting tool for NASA for nearly 50 years, battling Sith Lords and Klingons aren't real skills an astronaut needs to master. With NASA exploring new galaxies and Space X making space travel available to everyday billionaires, curiosity about the cosmos is surging and, as a result, space films are becoming more grounded. But, even lauded films like Gravity and Interstellar exist in our reality until they, shall we say, take a TURN. Those films leave the logic and reason that normally accompanies science and leap into the fantastic. Not so for The Martian. Perhaps Neil Degrasse Tyson will take issue with some of the practices in The Martian, but to non-rocket scientists, The Martian seems to make perfect sense.
3. The Martian isn't just about surviving on Mars. It's about surviving life. 
photo by Giles Keyte
The entire film follows Watney in his attempt to survive each day with an eye to how he can be rescued in the future. It's an entertaining film but initially doesn't seem to bring any real life application - I mean, how many of us have to grow potatoes on Mars? But the final scene drives it home. How do we survive any circumstance - whether it be Mars, a wobbly marriage or mounting debt? We survive by solving problems, tackling them one at a time. This cure-all reads small and obvious, but through the movie's journey, the message has meaningful impactful.
Personally, I laughed a lot more than I expected and frequently streamed tears of hope. The Martian is presented like a true story, so viewers don't have an emotional wall up when they know a film is pure fiction. That said, there's one reason why The Martian may not be for you:
1. "Suspense" doesn't always mean "thriller." 
photo by Giles Keyte
At times, the film moves slowly (similar to Castaway, actually); with a length of 141 minutes, that can give viewers some restless moments.
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