I spent my some of my summer vacation reading an awesome book called The Martian. I heard that the movie was coming out in October, so my goal was to finish it before the movie came out. I finished it in four days, and I have to say, it was a book that both tugged at my heart strings and kept me in suspense throughout. Then the movie came out. I was hyped for this movie. Maybe a little too hyped.

The movie is about a man by the name of Mark Watney. He gets stranded on Mars due to a storm that forces him and his crew evacuate. Watney is the only one that doesn’t board the ship. As time goes by, NASA finally discovers that he is still alive – this discovery comprises a key part of the story. Unfortunately, this surprise is spoiled within the first ten minutes of the film. If the movie remained more consistent with the book’s plot, it would have been more suspenseful.

If you read the book, you would be able to truly understand the hardships he endured. Mars made survival difficult for him, something went awry practically every time something was going well. While the movie did show his struggles, the book emphasized them a lot more. The movie ran for about two hours and 20 minutes and they (the producers/directors/ screenwriters) did fit in most of the adversity he faced, however there was one key struggle that really kept me on my feet that was not even mentioned. I was infuriated that it was not brought up in the film. It would have added to the story and make the viewers feel more suspense.

Throughout the movie there were minor details that were left out. For instance there was an Asian guy in the movie that was brought on the new mission. It could have been mentioned that he was on the mission because China helped with the last mission. Also Watney had more struggles in the book when going to the hab, the hab is Mars lander habitat.

Matt Damon did a great job of portraying Mark Watney in the movie, demonstrating Watney’s great sense of humor while struggling to survive. Something that was changed in the movie from the book was that they changed the name of one of the main characters. In the book it was “Venkat Kapoor”, but in the movie it was changed to “Vincent Kapoor.” He was also supposed to be Indian but that changed in the movie. In all fairness though Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played Vincent Kapoor, gave a strong performance.

Not reading the book would have made for a better movie-going experience. One should probably read the book after so you don’t have to be disappointed like me, watching the movie and then realizing all the flaws. Reading the book before the movie does give you some more insight into some of things that they don’t mention in the movie. I would have to give this movie a solid B, or an 8.5/10. Yes, all the actors did a fantastic job portraying their characters. Yet, a lot of very important parts of the book were left out. Here’s my solution to watching the movie: first go buy your ticket while you still can, then if you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, read the book.