The Martian (some spoilers, even if you've read the book)

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

I thought this turned out really well. Great performances from Matt Damon, Sean Bean, and all the ones I didn't recognize. Most of the deviations from the novel make sense, they were just cutting out a lot of extraneous details that would have bogged down the narrative in this format. I have a couple of complaints, though:

What xenophobe on the production staff decided it was necessary to make Venkat Kapoor half-Christian and change his name to Vincent? Anybody who'd be turned off by the thought of a Hindu being a senior director at NASA, probably wasn't going to watch this movie anyway.

I wish they'd included an explanation of the term "sol". I guess there's never a point where it's not obvious what they're talking about, but throwing around a term that the audience isn't familiar with like you expect them to pick up on it immediately, does not make your work accessible. One quick throwaway line about "a Martian day, or sol" would be enough.

I also wish the CNSA scene had been a bit longer, and also not done in such a way as to make the Chinese scientists look like lizard people wearing synthetic human suits. I sense the same hand at work that was responsible for "Vincent Kapoor".

You remember that soliloquy from the trailer about people helping each other? That was taken from the end of the book, but it's not in the movie. Must have been dropped in the last round of editing. I was upset about that, but Matt Damon must be furious.

Those admittedly minor quibbles aside, I really liked this movie. It's rare and refreshing to see something come out of Hollywood that depicts science being done and calls it a good thing, which I guess explains why the conservatives are hating on it. Also, I really, really want to see a director's cut release.