The Martian - Save Mark Watney - Blu-Ray

Movie: Finally it's done: the first humans have reached Mars in an international space mission. But during the mission, a devastating storm hits the planet and the crew has to leave Mars in a hurry. At the last second, they manage to save themselves in their space shuttle and begin the journey back to Earth. Only one remains behind: astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who apparently died during the storm. But Watney isn't dead and is now all alone on a planet where survival is actually impossible for a human. However, he doesn't give up that easily. With his expertise and a lot of will to survive, the trained botanist tries to make a makeshift home for himself until he is rescued. But to do so, he must first make contact with Earth.

Director Ridley Scott has truly not only brought masterpieces to the cinemas in recent years. But with The Martian - Save Mark Watney, a film adaptation of the bestseller by Andy Weir, the maker of classics like Alien or Blade Runner once again delivers something really great. The exciting story is told from three perspectives: from that of Mark Watney, who against all odds and desperately fights for his survival on Mars. From that of the NASA team on Earth, who work feverishly on a rescue mission after learning that Watney is still alive. And finally, from that of Watney's team, who must make a difficult decision on the way to Earth to retrieve their comrade left behind. With tightly knit dramaturgy and first-rate actors, Scott weaves these three storylines into a gripping whole that makes the film's nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time fly by.

Andy Weir made a point of ensuring that his novel was as accurate as possible from a scientific standpoint. At least in theory, all that he describes should actually be feasible. Scott made a similar demand on his film adaptation and therefore consulted several scientific advisors, among others from NASA. Apart from the big storm at the beginning of the film, which serves a purely dramaturgical purpose, Watney's survival strategies and the efforts of his rescuers are definitely based on facts that could theoretically be applied to Mars. But if you're now worried that The Martian - Save Mark Watney is an extremely dry film, brimming with scientific concepts, you can be reassured. Ridley Scott and screenwriter Drew Goddard manage perfectly to bring science and entertainment together to conjure up a very entertaining, rousing sci-fi version of Cast Away with MacGyver elements.

Watney copes with his difficult fate on Mars with a surprising amount of humour, which makes for some really good laughs time and time again. These provide an effective counterpoint to the successful moments of suspense,. The special effects are great and make you quickly forget that it wasn't really shot on Mars. One of the best aspects of the film, however, is Matt Damon, who delivers a truly great performance here. Anyone who still doubts the actor's great talent will be proven wrong here at the latest. But also the rest of the ensemble, especially Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean and Kristen Wiig, delivers wonderful performances that make the film also on an acting level to a treat.

The Martian - Save Mark Watney is entertainment cinema on a very high level. Technically brilliant, dramaturgically thrilling and with first-class acting, the film actually offers no real reason for criticism. A great adventure that is simply fun on all levels. For this there is a very clear: Absolutely worth seeing!!!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the Blu-ray has undoubtedly earned the top mark. The picture exhibits excellent sharpness, allowing even the smallest details to be seen very well. The image depth is impressive even in the 2D version and literally transports the viewer from the sofa to Mars. The colouring and contrasts also contribute to the extremely positive overall impression. The same goes for the sound mix. Even though the German DTS 5.1 track doesn't seem quite as powerful as the English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix, it also has atmospheric ambient sounds, a very good utilization of the surround channels (which can be heard very clearly, especially in the first minutes on Mars), as well as a clear reproduction of the voices. For this there is a clear: Very good!

Extras: At the cinema release Ridley Scott had hinted in various interviews that he would like to release on Blu-ray a longer Director`s Cut. Unfortunately, it has not (yet) come to that. It may be that this is also the reason why the disc with extras on the making of the film is still somewhat restrained. Because in the making-of-sector one is used to much more from Scott. 2 - 3 hour documentaries are not uncommon. So one can hope that there is more to come in every respect. Nevertheless, the bonus material offered here is also absolutely successful and very worth seeing. The first two featurettes go into the making of the film, the journey from book to film (approx. 9:36 min.), as well as the cast and costume design (approx. 14:13 min.). After that, there's a look at some of the more fun moments on set during filming (approx. 7:33 min.). That's about it for the extras on the making of the film.

However, it's the remaining extras that are definitely worth a look. Because they take a (fictional) look behind the scenes of the Ares III mission. For example, there is a (fake) documentary that draws a conclusion about the mission (approx. 17:18 min.), a video in which Whatney introduces his crew (approx. 3:35 min.), interviews of the crew with the NASA psychologist after their ten-day isolation before the launch to Mars (approx. 3:20 min.) or a promotional clip of NASA for the Ares III program (approx. 3:39 min.). Finally, a brief look at Whatney's training for the mission is offered (approx. 1:03 min.), as well as a video of reactions on Earth after it became clear that Mark Whatney was still alive and attempts were being made to bring him back home (approx. 1:34 min.).

The trailer for the film, as well as three production galleries (Earth, Hermes, Mars) close out the good bonus offerings. Worth seeing!

Conclusion: The Martian - Save Mark Watney was one of the best and most entertaining feature films of last year. Although the imagery in particular really comes into its own on the big screen, the thrilling rescue mission also works extremely well in the home theater. Picture and sound quality on the Blu-ray are excellent and the extras are also absolutely worth watching. For this there is a very clear: Absolutely recommendable!!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp