The year is 2035. The crew of Ares III Mission to Mars is happening. They are having an expedition—until a dust storm occurs. One of the people, Mark Watney, gets struck by some debris. He also gets stranded on Mars. Shortly after, the others presume that he is dead.

On Earth, the head of NASA announces Mark’s apparent demise. This freaks out the journalists around him, who demand more information.

However, Mark is actually alive. But he does have some wounds. Luckily, though, he recovers. He also records a video of himself saying how he plans to survive.

Unfortunately, he is unable to communicate with anyone on Earth. Not only that, the earliest he can be rescued is four years from then. Until then, he has to figure out how to take care of himself.

One of the biggest things Mark must worry about is how he can eat. Miraculously, he grows a potato garden using the soil and other natural elements from Mars. So far, he succeeds with that and does okay, even if he dislikes the disco music another crew member left on that craft.

Meanwhile, NASA satellite planner Mindy Park is able to track Mark’s actions with a satellite in space. She learns that he is alive.

However, NASA director Teddy Sanders refuses to let anyone else know thanks to flight director Mitch Henderson’s objection to it. Of course, this could lead to more misinformation.

On Mars, Mark studies his surroundings and what he can do to navigate. But he focuses on retrieving something called a pathfinder, which he hopes he can use to communicate with those on Earth.

Being stranded on Mars also affects his physical appearance. For example, he starts growing a beard and is unable to shave because he has no razor.

At some point, people from NASA can reach Mark on his pathfinder and interact with him. Most of the interactions are like emails, though. Mark composes a message and sends it to the other NASA members. They do the same thing.

Sometime later, Henderson finally reveals that Mark is alive. Everyone in NASA figures out how they can get him back to Earth.

What will the plan be? Will Mark be able to come home at last?

I am going to admit that despite the interesting plot, the beginning was quite boring. I had trouble keeping my attention at times.

Unfortunately, this movie became confusing at times, as well. This could be due to the constant POV-switching. Yes, it was necessary. But it sometimes was too fast. It actually made the storyline harder to follow.

On the bright side, this film did have strengths, too. For example, Mark was a well-developed and likable character. I admired his creativity and how he figured out ways to survive on Mars without anyone else around him. I also found it funny when he expressed his distaste in older disco songs.

The title of this movie wasn’t all that misleading. Usually, a Martian is an alien from Mars. But in this case, it was an earthling stranded on Mars. That I find very creative.

Despite the long runtime of the film being nearly two and a half hours long, the pacing was mostly quick. The midpoint and later half of the movie actually became more exciting.

That being said, I considered the secondary characters to be less interesting. I felt that they didn’t have as much development or memorable traits compared to Mark. However, most of them were still likable.

Twists and turns do occur in this film, as well. See it to find out what they are.

Overall, though, I thought The Martian was only decent. The confusing plot and dull beginning contributed to my opinion on this movie. I will admit that I used Wikipedia to help me narrate the story in this post. Of course, all words are my own.

Another important thing to note is that although the movie is rated PG-13, there is more swearing than you might imagine. So, I would recommend viewers be at least 15—maybe 13 or 14 if they’re mature enough.

Anyway, I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars.