The Martian, a 2015 film starring Matt Damon, became one of my favorite movies ever last Friday evening. The movie details an astronaut by the name of Mark Watney who is accidentally deserted by his team on Mars, and his quest to make it back to Earth alive.

The movie has a few themes, one of which is isolation. Mark is stranded on Mars alone and it goes without saying that he does not even have a cell phone or anyway to reach planet Earth. While I do consider myself to be fairly independent, I could not imagine being out of contact with everyone I knew for months. Throughout the movie, Mark records video diaries of what he is doing, as if he knows that one day he may return to planet earth. This confidence is what drove Mark to in some way try to survive.

In order to survive, Mark uses science to farm food, move around to different locations on Mars, and eventually launch himself into orbit. I think Mark’s optimism and problem solving techniques are what make this movie so enjoyable. Mark rarely seems devastated by his isolationism or problems. This serves as a reminder of how powerful the human mind can be if you simply stay positive.

Another interesting part of the movie is how much support his team and other members of NASA had for him once they found out he was alive. In fact, the entire world came together to watch the attempted rescue. This helps to illustrate the theme of teamwork. The other 5 individuals risked their lives and added 500+ days to their mission to save Mark, even though they were originally advised not to go back.

“The Martian” was a great movie due to the acting, the story line, the special effects, and the themes. I would recommend this movie to all.