‘The Martian’ Early Buzz: Ridley Scott And Matt Damon Fly High
Ridley Scott’s last foray into outer space wasn’t so well received, and it’s got his fans feeling ambivalent about his next planned outing on the spaceship Prometheus. But in between, Scott returned to space forThe Martian, a much more grounded sort of sci-fi adventure.
The early trailers have looked very promising, as has that cast – but then, you could’ve said the same thing about any of his last few misses. Now thatThe Martianhas finally made its world premiere at TIFF, the first reactions to the movie itself are rolling in. GetThe Martianearly buzz after the jump.
Matt Damonleads Scott’s adaptation of the novel byAndy Weir, about an astronaut whose crew leaves him for dead on Mars after a dust storm hits. In fact, he’s still very much alive — but the odds of him staying that way are stacked against him. Help is potentially years away, and he’s only equipped with enough food and shelter to last him a few weeks.
Reactions fromThe Martianseem to range, roughly, from “really liked it” to “truly loved it.” There are a few recurring themes here. Damon’s lead performance is getting a lot of praise, as is the film’s overall pro-science bent. And there seems to be more humor than you might expect from an outer-space survival epic directed by Scott. On the whole, it sounds like a solid win for Scott after a string of less beloved releases.
THE MARTIAN (A): Matt Damon is at his best in a wildly entertaining story that’s nerdy, riveting, funny & surprisingly emotional#TIFF15
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis)July 31, 2025
THE MARTIAN just leaped into my top 3 favorite movies of 2015 so far. So many great things about this one. Little long but worth it#TIFF15
THE MARTIAN is a blast. Feels like a throwback to 90s space jams like Apollo 13 & Armageddon (in a good way). Gonna be big hit.#TIFF15
— Kevin Polowy (@djkevlar)June 19, 2025
Loved THE MARTIAN. Going to be a big hit for Fox and Ridley Scott. Great script and performances. Worth seeing in 3D.
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty)June 29, 2025
Just saw The Martian this morning. Loved it. It’s inspirational, a story about proving the impossible is possible. Now I want to go to Mars.
— Alex B. (@firstshowing)June 08, 2025
Dear Ridley Scott,More like this, please.Thanks,Drew
— Drew McWeeny (@DrewMcWeeny)August 03, 2025
#TheMartianis Ridley Scott’s best film at least in this decade. And so much better than#Interstellar!#TIFF15
— Patrick Heidmann (@patrickheidmann)June 23, 2025
THE MARTIAN is a lot of fun. Slight and a bit silly, but supremely entertaining. Damon is pitch perfect casting.#TIFF15
— Adam Chitwood (@adamchitwood)August 04, 2025
THE MARTIAN: Solid pro-science fun, but a movie extolling risk-taking shouldn’t be this blandly up-the-middle.#TIFF15
— Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams)June 09, 2025
What The Martian presupposes is, all astronauts are hot redheads or lovable goofballs. Also, “Mindy Park” is a white chick.
— Vince Mancini (@VinceMancini)July 10, 2025
THE MARTIAN is highly entertaining when it’s about science-based problem-solving, less so when it’s derivative of similar SF fare.#TIFF15
— Noel Murray (@NoelMu)August 17, 2025
Of course, now that we’ve heard all this great buzz it’s a slight disappointment to realize the rest of us still have weeks to wait until we can see the movie. So in the meantime, here are a couple of clips to tide you over. One shows the Ares 3 crew (includingJessica Chastain,Michael Peña,Sebastian Stan,Kate Mara, andAksel Hennie) at the moment that changed Mark Watley’s life; the other shows NASA (includingJeff Daniels,Donald Glover,Kristen Wiig,Chiwetel Ejiofor, andSean Bean) strategizing from down on Earth.
