Rent The Martian (2015)

3.9 of 5 from 1296 ratings
2h 21min
Rent The Martian Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
During a manned mission to Mars, American astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead and left behind by his crew. But Watney is still alive, and he must now find a way to contact Earth - and survive on a barren planet with meagre supplies - in the hope that an international team of scientists can devise a near-impossible rescue plan to bring him home!
Actors:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Directors:
Producers:
Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, Ridley Scott, Aditya Sood, Mark Huffam
Writers:
Drew Goddard, Andy Weir
Others:
Mark Taylor, Pietro Scalia, Steven Warner, Chris Lawrence, Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Oliver Tarney, Paul Massey, Arthur Max, Celia Bobak, Mac Ruth, Tim Ledbury
Studio:
20th Century Fox
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Collections:
2016, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, Films & TV by topic, Giant Leap for Mankind: A History of Astronaut Films, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Ridley Scott
BBFC:
Release Date:
08/04/2016
Run Time:
141 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Ares III: Farewell
  • The Right Stuff
  • Ares: Our Greatest Adventure
  • Leave Your Mark
  • Bring Him Home
  • Gag Reel
  • Theatrical Trailer
BBFC:
Release Date:
08/04/2016
Run Time:
141 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
(0) All
Bonus:
  • Gag Reel
  • Ares III: Refocused
  • Ares: Our Greatest Adventure
  • Bring Him Home
  • Leave Your Mark
  • Ares III: Farewell
  • The Right Stuff
  • Signal Acquired: Writing and Direction
  • Occupy Mars: Casting and Costumes
  • Production Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer
BBFC:
Release Date:
08/04/2016
Run Time:
141 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
(0) All
Bonus:
  • Gag Reel
  • Ares III: Refocused
  • Ares: Our Greatest Adventure
  • Bring Him Home
  • Leave Your Mark
  • Ares III: Farewell
  • The Right Stuff
  • Signal Acquired: Writing and Direction
  • Occupy Mars: Casting and Costumes
  • Production Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer
BBFC:
Release Date:
03/10/2016
Run Time:
151 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Atmos
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Original Cinema Edition and Extended Cut Audio Commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Screenwriter Drew Goddard and Novelist Andy Weir
  • The Long Way Home: Making 'The Martian'
  • Dare Mighty Things: NASA's Journey to Mars
  • The Journey to Mars 101:3 Q&As with Astronauts, Engineers and Filmmakers
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Gag Reel
  • Ares III: Refocused
  • 5 Ares III Mission Videos
  • And More!

More like The Martian

Reviews (19) of The Martian

Good, but . . . - The Martian review by MD

Spoiler Alert
22/08/2016

Amazingly, given its box office success, I came to this film knowing very little about it, so here's a selection of reactions:

- a bit of a recycled plot ("Castaway" in space) and so predictable an ending ("Apollo 13" redux)

- a fine first half, much wittier and more interesting than one would expect

- a less fine second half, when the Hollywood juggernaut syndrome took over and the believability factor plummeted

- a nice, nuanced performance from Matt Damon, everybody else more or less a cliche or cypher

- a very convincing portrayal of the Red Planet, CGI put to excellent use

- a pleasure to see a film that did not totally dumb down science to the point of inanity

So, overall, a reasonably successful effort that certainly works well 70% of the time, let down though by the things that are so often a problem in modern, US big budget movies that have to be "exciting", "emotional" and ridiculously gung-ho patriotic to boot.

3 out of 4 members found this review helpful.

Stands up well - The Martian review by Champ

Spoiler Alert
24/07/2018

I saw this film at the cinema when first released in 2015, and loved it. Since then I have read the book, which is also excellent, and I was interested to see how the movie stood up a few years later.

And the answer is - it stands up very well indeed. There's some very good hard science in it, which it revels in instead of dumbing down. Sure it, takes some dramatic licence - after a character says that each message takes minutes to round-trip, people are then seen communicating as if in real time. But I can forgive it that.

Matt Damon is truly excellent, and I love the way he, and the film, play some scenes for laughs. The rest of the cast is a little mixed - while some of the supporting characters are excellent (Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor stand out), others, such a Sean Bean, are more than a little wooden. But the film is good enough overall that it can stand a few lines of stilted dialogue, poorly delivered.

I also have to mention the movie makes Mars looks. This is reason alone to watch this on blu-ray! I never wondered how they did it, I just marvelled that it genuinely felt like Matt Damon was on Mars.

And if you really like the science in this movie, then I can highly recommend the book :-)

3 out of 4 members found this review helpful.

Good film with real science - The Martian review by AB

Spoiler Alert
02/06/2018

Nice to see real science being used properly regarding feeding, oxygen, water etc. Some of the fine details were skimmed over in the film (cf the book, which probably had *too* much detail). The last few scenes were very good - emotionally draining in fact and I found myself getting very emotional about it all, with a lump in my throat. It is also believable that the world (ie all nations) *would* get together to help someone in Watney's predicament.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Critic review

The Martian review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Ridley Scott’s theatrical adaptation of Andy Weir’s intricate sci-fi novel may be his most accessible film. He doesn’t attempt to stage a deeper meaning towards the survival of one man on Mars or crowd it with cryptic symbolism. The strength of Scott’s The Martian is that he plays it straight and accurately - rarely slowing down for a moment without wonder, drama or humor.

It’s a simple story of survival in which Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind during a storm on Mars. His crew have left the planet believing that Mark has most likely bit the red dust. All alone on a deserted planet, Mark is forced to rely on the left-behind resources of his crew to keep himself alive. He grows potatoes in his make-shift greenhouse to maintain a longer supply of food. He seeks out communication parts to see if he can contact NASA. And he does his best to maintain his sanity when his limited means of entertainment is music from the 1970’s.

It’s clear there was a lot of research that went into both Weir’s writing and Scott’s direction - both applying suggestions and insight from scientists. Weir slowly formed his novel through online critiques by those in the field while Scott worked with NASA to deliver a believable movie that mostly takes place on Mars and in space. If I had read the novel or chosen a more fruitful degree in science, I could probably spend this entire review picking out what the movie nailed or missed in either the screen translation or scientific logic. Ultimately, not much of that would matter if the film wasn’t entertaining.

The amazing news is that Ridley Scott delivers on a sci-fi picture that is equal parts hard science and emotionally engaging. You may not be able to pick up on Mark’s quick thinking and reasoning as it happens on Mars, but you can relate to his frustration and cocky nature over his predicament. Though Mark is capable enough to survive on Mars, he is not above boasting about his success to the camera about how he’s better than Neil Armstrong. In that sense, The Martian is most easily pitched as a sci-fi version of Cast Away with the addition of hard science thrills and subtraction of any volleyball for Matt Damon to converse with.

The cast is all-around brilliant. While Matt Damon pulls an impressive performance with his one-man-show on Mars, the characters on the space station and back on Earth are all fantastic. Jeff Daniels commands an insightful presence as the director of NASA, calculated among the public and impatient around his staff. The staff placed in charge of saving Mark include the likes of Kristen Wiig, Michael Pena, Kate Mara and Sean Bean. This is quite the ensemble and yet there seems to be just enough for everyone to do as they all form an essential role in bringing home the lost astronaut.

Special effects have never been a problem when it comes to Ridley Scott movies and he applies a great deal of realism to the details of this story. Matt Damon’s trek through Mars feels like we’re on the red planet. The space station of the away astronauts has a believable quality on the level of 2001: A Space Odyssey. But unlike Kubrick’s space adventure which chugs along at a snail’s pace to take in the wonders of the universe, Scott’s picture is fast and focussed. It does become maybe a little too intricate in how various degrees of scientists and directors are pulled into the operation, but never too dense in that it avoids becoming a confusing mess of politics and technicalities.

The Martian may not be Ridley Scott’s greatest or most perplexing of films, but it certainly is his most entertaining picture that is easily recommendable to all audiences. It’s simple enough to enjoy on a character level and intricate enough to please the most scrutinizing of sci-fi fans. Everything about this film is a knockout from the performances to the special effects to the writing - all operating at peak efficiency. Who would have thought that a capable space adventure could be conceived without the need for aliens, space battleships or forced in elements of emotion. If Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar was a modest attempt at blending sensational entertainment with space exploration, The Martian is the real deal.

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