First Matt Damon was the guy in the title–Private Ryan–the soldier rescued from the front lines in Saving Private Ryan.  Now he is the guy in the title again, an astronaut on Mars who gets separated from his crew, left for dead, in the Winter 2015 release The Martian.  Truth is stranger than fiction, so it will be hard to top Ron Howard’s ultimate big-budget space rescue Apollo 13, but the buzz is building for The Martian as the next Gravity or Interstellar.

That could be good or bad.  It’s good because we all are waiting for the next great science fiction movie, and sometimes you have to go through plenty of weeds to find a rose.  It’s bad because mainstream, big-budget outer space movies with major actors usually disappoint–wannabes that are never as good as their lower budget, often brainier brethren.  Then again, it stars Matt Damon.

Matt Damon has taken on some interesting roles, earning him some street cred with sci-fi fans.  Even if the films aren’t great, his performance typically is.  Look at films like Elysium and The Adjustment Bureau.  And he’s often one of the best features of other films, like Titan A.E., Ocean’s Eleven, The Bourne Identity, The Brothers Grimm, The Departed, and The Monuments Men.

Check out this first look at The Martian:

The Martian is directed by Ridley Scott, director of classic sci-fi flicks Alien and Blade Runner.  It is based on the self-published debut novel of author Andy Weir.  The Martian also stars Kate Mara (Fantastic Four), Jessica Chastain (Veronica Mars), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings, GoldenEye, Game of Thrones, Patriot Games), Sebastian Stan (Captain America: I and II), and Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber, Looper).

The Martian hits theaters November 25, 2015.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com