Walking into the theater I was hopeful but not overly excited like the rest of Movie Club. From what I saw in the trailers, I thought this movie was a cross between Gravity and Interstellar: a person gets stranded in space plus a bunch of science mumbo-jumbo. I have never been more wrong. “The Martian”, a movie based on the novel by Andy Weir, proved to be a suspenseful, funny, and jaw-dropping movie that surpassed both of those films and more.

The synopsis of this movie is basically “Cast Away” in space; a man ends up being stranded with nothing but his wits and a few supplies and must survive long enough to make it home. Unlike that movie, this one has a happier ending, the main character doesn’t go insane, and no Wilson the Volleyball (although you could argue he has Wilson the Video Journal). Matt Damon plays as Mark Watney, the stranded astronaut left to battle Mars alone. Using NASA, his resources, and surprising botany skills, Watney fights for his life against a planet.

One thing that is noticeable in this movie is its frustrating conflict. Throughout the entire film, everything that could possibly go wrong does. From things as small as bad music to problems as large as his base exploding, it’s a wonder Watney was able to survive one day, much less three years.

Despite this, the entire movie was a well-done masterpiece. Even though the trailers mainly revolve around our protagonist, it turns out every character gets development. The inclusion of the Chinese government as well as the random coffee addicted nerd who shows up for two scenes are given as much a purpose as Watney.

Another thing that amazed me was how real the planet felt. I couldn’t place where the crew could have filmed this production because it looked like the real planet. I actually believed that Matt Damon was in space and that he would die if he did something wrong. The planetary desert storms didn’t look CGI; it looked like the crew waited every day until a storm would come by just so they could film it. Kudos to the director and crew for those amazing shots.

All in all, this movie is highly recommended. If you have initial thoughts similar to mine, scrap it because they are most likely wrong. This movie definitely deserves to be called “out of this world.”