The Martian wasn't just another space movie. This film was unique because whoever was watching it felt connected with the main character, not only was it full of humour (which made it different from your usual space dilemma movie) but it was also sad, I say that is a perfect recipe for a film.
The beginning is like any other space movie, astronauts discussing stats we don't know about or understand. But it quickly escalated until we were left with the charismatic Mark Watney. What was so charming about this character is that he was full of humour even though there was a good chance that he might die. The humour of the protagonist won over the audience and we forgot for a moment about the real dilemma of the film but we were quickly enthrusted in it again. I liked that there was a good balance of the point of view of characters other than the protagonist. I think that the mixture of humour and reinforcement of the disequilibrium in the film is what made it so enjoyable.
The ending was one of the best bits in the film as the audience knew there was going to be a happy ending to begin with as there usually is with these kind of films, however: the ending brought people to start doubting if there was actually going to be a happy ending for the protagonist as all humour had stopped and things got serious. I think that the whole film was a thrilling experience because there was laughter, sadness, kindness, perseverance and this all made us, the audience, feel like we had lived through a key moment in the protagonist's life.
Hmm, I definitely enjoyed the film as a tense space thriller, I certainly felt it was lacking in plot for me (i.e. not enough exciting stuff was happening), and I definitely don't think I should've won the Golden Globe for best Musical or Comedy! Fantastic review regardless :)