The Martian
A stranded astronaut turns Mars into a laboratory of survival while Earth mobilizes an audacious multinational rescue.
Overview
A lone astronaut battles the odds on a desolate planet, showcasing human resilience and ingenuity.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- tense
- hopeful
- science fiction marathon
- immersive weekend viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an entertaining, visually polished, humanistic survival adventure elevated by Matt Damon's performance and its inventive scientific problem-solving.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mark Watney uses botany, chemistry, mathematics, and improvised engineering to extend his supplies and seek rescue.
Watney's Mars struggle is interwoven with NASA personnel and his crewmates developing competing rescue plans.
Ridley Scott combines sweeping Mars landscapes, spacecraft operations, and orbital rescue sequences with an emphasis on human cooperation.
Watney responds to isolation and life-threatening setbacks with dry humor, persistence, and methodical problem-solving.
Films like The Martian, and why
Apollo 13
shared space survival tension, engineering problem-solving, and grounded human resilience
Gravity
shared isolation, scientific ingenuity, and visually immersive survival drama in space
Interstellar
shared survival narrative, large-scale space spectacle, and cooperation across Earth and orbit
Contact
shared procedural rescue mission, ensemble teamwork, and optimistic humanism
Movie Details
- Director
- Ridley Scott
- Release Date
- 2015-09-30
- Runtime
- 141 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (21868)
Cast
- Matt Damon
- Jessica Chastain
- Kristen Wiig
- Jeff Daniels
- Michael Peña
- Sean Bean
- Kate Mara
- Sebastian Stan
- Aksel Hennie
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Martian about?
- A stranded astronaut turns Mars into a laboratory of survival while Earth mobilizes an audacious multinational rescue.
- What is The Martian like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Martian as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Martian violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Martian as mild.
- What did critics think of The Martian?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an entertaining, visually polished, humanistic survival adventure elevated by Matt Damon's performance and its inventive scientific problem-solving.
- Which films are like The Martian?
- Films with a similar feel include Apollo 13, Gravity, Interstellar, and Contact.
- How long is The Martian?
- The Martian runs 141 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Martian?
- In United States, The Martian streams on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
