The Martian is one of my go to comfort films. I love how it’s a story about people working together and the good in people plus it’s also very funny and has a great soundtrack. I also think it’s one of the best adaptations and I love the book a lot too.

Mark Watney is the greatest botanist on the planet Mars after he accidentally gets left there by his crew when they think he’s dead. I love him in both the film and the book. He has such a wry and sarcastic sense of humour as he just has to get on with things to survive.

Obviously, Mark has to be smart to be on a mission to Mars but seeing how he copes with no one with him and no support from NASA for the longest time actually shows how capable and resourceful he is. Though he did blow himself up once after he miscalculated how much oxygen was in the air.

I think Mark just works as a character because he feels really human and real in an extraordinary situation. He has moments where he gets angry, sad and frustrated at the situation he’s in and he is a realist in the sense that he is well aware of the fact he is stuck on a planet with limited resources so there is a good chance he’ll die before he’s rescued. He knows all the ways things could go wrong for him but he continues to work through the problems as he can’t see himself giving up.

I think what really shines through, even though they don’t have a lot of screen time actually together, is the banter and camaraderie Mark has with the rest of the crew. He’s a likable person even if he makes jokes about other people’s jobs and says they’re less important than his. Mark has a bit of an ego, but for a guy who survives Mars I think that’s allowed.