Alien Movie Analysis

How about we begin by addressing the elephant in the room: Ridley Scott has been in a slump for the past decade or more. In 1979 he redefined the space film with Alien, in 1982 he crafted his gritty science fiction masterwork Blade Runner, and in 2000 he won the Academy Award for Best Picture with Gladiator. Obviously, a stunning repertoire, but what has he directed since then? Mediocre film after mediocre film. Whether it be Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, Prometheus, or The Counselor, Scott has been far from par for as long as I can remember. And Hollywood being a "what have you done for me lately" type of town, you can understand the misgivings I had when I bought my ticket to see his latest effort. Much to my extremely pleasant surprise, The Martian is Ridley's return
The Ares 3 mission crew that joins Watney is filled with familiar names like Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, and Michael Peña, while back on Earth, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sean Bean are believable characters fighting to keep Mark alive. The only issues I have with the movie reside within the script. Drew Goddard did a commendable job adapting the best-selling novel by Andy Weir, brilliantly incorporating a lighthearted tone to blend with the seriousness of the situation. Every film nowadays strives for Nolanesque melodrama, so a film with this much heart is absolutely refreshing. Unfortunately, the sentimentality becomes a bit overwhelming at times, and a few scenes of shaky dialogue feel out of place. Overall, the movie is fantastic. Scott's directing and Damon's performance combine to make a brand new science fiction classic. Truly a love letter to NASA, science, and the American space program, it's an inspirational journey. It has a few minor flaws in the script, but it truly is another jewel to add the the résumé of the great Ridley