"The Martian" is a wild, entertaining cinematic ride 

"The Martian," starring Matt Damon, is a wild cinematic ride

Literally days before Twentieth-Century Fox opened its new blockbuster movie "The Martian" nationwide, NASA announced that it had solid evidence of flowing water on Mars.

Talk about PR help from the heavens! (Those guys at Fox must be sending their prayers to the right cloud.)

Anyway, the news from NASA is a blast, and it only made my viewing of "The Martian" on its opening day, Friday, Oct. 2, all the more enjoyable. We now have evidence that there very well may be life on Mars, and we certainly have evidence, from this movie, that Hollywood in 2015 can make a science-fiction film that\'s engrossing, unusual, well-crafted, and altogether entertaining.

The most important point I want to make about this movie is that it has a fresh tone. Despite what your take-away might be from the studio trailer above, the mood of this movie is not somber and morose. The basic story -- certainly not lightweight stuff --  has been done before, of course:  an astronaut among a crew of seven has been stranded on the Red Planet after an accident, and various means of bringing him home to Earth are attempted.

But the tone here is not heavy. For example, Mark Watney, the stranded astronaut played expertly by Matt Damon, jokes about his stratagems for surviving alone up there, including the fact that his only music on Mars is the ship commander\'s collection of disco music.

By the way, music was used skillfully in "The Martian," and is probably a big reason why I liked the movie so much. I mean, how can you not like a science-fiction flick that includes David Bowie singing "Space Man"?

The tone is certainly not all playful, though. For example, there\'s a scene when Watney is recording a message for his parents back home. He\'s not sure he\'s going to make it home alive, but he tells them that he\'s loved doing what he\'s done -- living for something bigger and greater than himself.

For middle-aged baby boomers like this reporter-- and for the millions of my fellow boomers who\'ll be watching this film -- those words go right to the heart.

In some ways, this movie is a mixture of dichotomies. Part old Hollywood, it\'s also got a very individualistic style.

The director is Ridley Scott, the Englishman whose career has spanned such films as 1979\'s "Alien" and 1991\'s "Thelma & Louise." So this guy knows how to make movie classics in two genres: science fiction and character drama. In "The Martian," I would say Scott has made a great science fiction film that\'s also filled with real character drama. (Damon is far from alone in the film. There\'s a large cast, solid from one end to another.)

And of course, the film is also not without a sense of humor. For some, this may seem off-putting. For me, it worked beautifully.

We live in an age when companies like Space X are building rockets to take civilians into space, free of government bureaucracy and red tape. Capitalism is powering these rockets. Though its success has been hit-or-miss so far, Space X, and companies like it, will be part of the future of space travel.

Jessica Chastain, from cast of "The Martian"

In this regard, "The Martian" seems like a science-fiction movie for our times. The future is becoming the present all the time nowadays. The movie is set slightly in the future, but it seems like now, in many ways. Science is becoming part of our daily lives: from the serious and the passionate, to the lighthearted.

Tastes vary, of course, and not everyone will like "The Martian" as much as I did.

Following a matinee screening of the film at Chicago\'s Davis Theatre, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., I spoke with a married couple from the city\'s Lakeview area.

Jeff Daniels as NASA administrator in "The Martian"

Matt, 50, a native Chicagoan who works as a financial adviser, said of the film, "I thought it was good, but I think I read too much hype about it, and I came in with too high expectations. But it was solid. I was expecting more wit in the writing."

Kelly, 49, also a native of the Windy City, works in advertising. She said of the film, "I thought it was entertaining, but a little sophomoric. For example, some of the banter. It was not what would go down in that situation. Also, I think they borrowed too much from \'Apollo 13.\'

In conclusion, with a smile on her face, she asked,  "How do you not like looking at Matt Damon for two-and-a-half  hours?"

"The Martian" was based on a 2011 novel of the same name by Andy Weir. The film was written by Drew Goddard, and its music was by Harry Gregson-Williams. It is currently playing nationwide, and at several theaters in the Chicago area.

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A long-term resident of Chicago's Ravenswood area, Hartmann worked in reference publishing for 20 years. He was a researcher for "Who's Who in America," and was a longtime editor of a newsletter covering developments in the U.S. Congress. He's currently working in social science research. lawrencehartmann7@gmail.com

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