10 Reasons The Martian Is Ridley Scott's Comeback

10. It Doesn't Waste Any Time

Considering that this film clocks in at a meaty 141 minutes, it's reasonable to expect that Scott's going to spend the first act of the movie introducing the viewer to Mark Watney's (Matt Damon) family and gearing up to the eventual incident where he's left on Mars. Thankfully, though, Scott has other, far better ideas. The film instead decides to kick off on Mars, with Watney and his colleagues on the surface before they're caught in a gigantic storm which causes them to hastily evacuate, leading to Watney being left for dead amid all the mayhem. This happens in the first 10 minutes of the film and assures audiences from the outset that Scott has no intent on playing around or indulging in trite sentiment. In fact, only a few passing references to Watney's family are made throughout the entire run-time. Whereas other movies bog themselves down in moldy, trite family drama, Scott cuts through it like a blade through butter, and the film is all the better for it.