Reddit Picks This Smart 9-Year-Old Sci-Fi Gem As a Perfect Movie For Nerds

Cinema has largely reflected the change in humanity's attitude toward space in the 21st century: space is increasingly portrayed as a lifeless or unknowable place where nothing good awaits humans. In the dark abyss, if a space traveler encounters anything at all, it is an extremely unfriendly creature – Ridley Scott, in particular, started with this idea when he directed Alien.

But 36 years later, he also made a movie that changed the game. Light, cheerful, deliberately old-fashioned, it put the human creator back at the center of the universe, full of optimism and faith in science. And that movie was The Martian.

What is The Martian About?

After a violent storm on Mars, astronaut Mark Watney's colleagues left him as they thought he was dead. But Watney survived and found himself completely alone. Undaunted, Mark uses his ingenuity to find a way to communicate with Earth.

Now, the best scientists from different countries are making every effort to return the "Martian" home, and his crew members are organizing an almost impossible rescue mission.

The Martian Is a Must-See for Every Nerd

Redditors recommend this sci-to flick to anyone interested in science.

“This is the movie for nerds and engineers. […] And while it's not completely scientifically accurate (obviously) it is still very impressive and everything just screams well researched,” Reddit user Obvious_Ninja7595 wrote.

And this is a statement that’s hard to argue with.

The Martian Is a Perfect Mix of Science And Fiction

It won’t be hard to find viewers and scientists who are ready to criticize The Martian. Indeed, one can make a long list of complaints about the movie, but the magic of The Martian lies in the synthesis of science and Hollywood power, for the sake of which it is sometimes worth neglecting strict authenticity.

Ridley Scott and screenwriter Drew Goddard are master storytellers who find the necessary harmony between calculated science and entertaining action.

For the first hour, the film is subordinated to a scientific basis, and it is almost documentary. In the second hour, the Hollywood myth of rescue takes over, with the brave crew willing to sacrifice time and even their lives to come to the aid of the lonely Watney.

Growing potatoes on Martian soil, extracting water from rocket fuel – all these life-saving possibilities of science are then replaced by simpler visual attractions of going into space. The beauty of The Martian is that it offers a fairly balanced solution – moderately scientific and moderately artistic and entertaining.