Imagine having the opportunity to travel into space. What an amazing opportunity it would be! Being able to explore another planet in any capacity, gathering data, analyzing statistics of the environment, or just having the ability to tell others that you’ve been to another planet. Opportunities like this are something that some often dream of doing. The Martian tells us the story of astronaut Mark Watney and his team’s deployment to Mars.
However with a great opportunity such as this, there are always extreme dangers to be considered. Based off of the 2011 novel The Martian by Andy Weir, Watney and his team travel to Mars and run into various unexpected encounters while on this planet that ultimately leave Watney stranded on the distant planet as his team leaves him for their own safety. Will Watney survive the unknown elements of the distant planet? Does he have enough supplies to make it? Intrigued? Then jump into The Martian in 4K and answer these questions yourself!
The Movie Itself (5/5):
We have already covered this movie in our previous 4K Review of The Martian, so this will be a sort of brief review. However, the only thing to note on this release is that the Extended Edition adds just 7 minutes of extra run time, so it may not be worth the double dip if you have the standard release already.
I absolutely loved this movie. Having the opportunity to explore the 4k UHD release of the new extended edition will make my third time viewing this film. There are some action packed scenes that you would expect with the dangers that are obvious in an unknown environment. But there are also the various hardships as we see Watney try to make the best of what he has available to him. The Martian explores new concepts that haven’t been tested by real NASA scientists in any capacity today. However it is easily feasible with the technology that we have today.
After looking into the achievements that this film had received post production, it’s absolutely no surprise that this movie did as well as it did. Not only did it gross over $630 million, making it Ridley Scott’s highest grossing film, but it was also the 10th highest grossing film of 2015. In addition to those notable accolades, The Martian won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, received 7 Academy Award Nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The lead actor, Matt Damon won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and was nominated for several awards including the Academy Award for Best Actor, the BAFTA for Best Actor and the Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actor.
Picture Quality (5/5):
While The Martian technically isn’t a “true” 4K release, the image quality of this film was spectacular. The Martian was shot in 5K, VFX rendered in 2K and had a Digital Intermediate at 2K. With all of that taken into consideration, the image quality is extremely improved over its Blu-ray counterpart.
Despite this film not being a “true” 4K film, the intergalactic scenes really popped on my TV. Being able to see the grains of dirt while he navigated his way outside of his camp on Mars and the extreme detail, including the ability to see the sweat beads clearly as Watney exerted himself, left me speechless. With the addition of High-Dynamic Range (HDR) on this film, watching The Martian in 4K UHD really is quite the experience, but alas, is the same as the standard edition in terms of quality. There is no real upgrade here.
Audio Quality (5/5):
Making full use of the Dolby Atmos Technology, The Martian really made use of my home theater system. I was able to audibly hear and understand everything as it was presented on screen. This is seriously quite the improvement over the initial release of this film. Being a launch title, the standard 4K UHD release of The Martian only went as high as using a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track.
With the use of Atmos Technology, if you closed your eyes and open your mind as Watney navigated the planets surface, you can’t help but feel that you are with him on the distant red planet.
The Packaging (5/5):
The Martian (Extended Edition) comes released in your typical 4K UHD Blu-ray casing. One advantage to grabbing this release, if you hadn’t already is that this is a 3-Disc release. Included in the packaging is your 4K UHD Blu-ray disc that only features the Extended Edition of the film. In addition to that, you also receive two additional Blu-rays. The first Blu-ray includes both editions of the film, standard and extended. The discs that include the film itself do not include any bonus content as this release comes with a dedicated Blu-ray disc to house all of the bonus content.
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Special Features (5/5):
The extended edition of The Martian comes fully packed with bonus content. Made available on its own disc, this release features over 2 hours of additional content compared to its earlier release. The bonus content is listed below:
- Theatrical and Extended Cut Audio Commentary by Ridley Scott, Drew Goddard and Andy Weir
- The Long Way Home: Making The Martian
- Dare Mighty Things: NASA’s Journey to Mars
- The Journey to Mars 101: NASA’s Journey to Mars
- The Journey to Mars 101: Living on Mars and Beyond
- The Journey to Mars 101: Why Science Fiction Inspires Me
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel
- Ares III: Refocused
- 5 Ares Mission Videos
- Investigating Mars
- Production Art Gallery
- Theatrical Trailers
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
NOTE: The Dolby Atmos Track is only available on the US version of this release.
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish
Final Thoughts:
As you can see from reading through my review, I absolutely enjoyed this movie and the experience that it had to offer. The Martian allows you to virtually explore the red planet. Damon’s acting was great as he threw in some of his comedic skills to make light of the situation that he was stuck in. The 4K UHD release of this film really packs a punch when it comes to audio and video presentation.
However, if you already own the standard release of this film, I wouldn’t double-dip just for the extra material. Sure there’s 2-hours of additional bonus features, but the additional content in the film itself isn’t a lot as it adds just an extra 7 minutes of footage. But, if you haven’t picked this film up yet, you can grab the 4K UHD release of the extended version for $29.99 on Amazon.
Note: This Blu-ray was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.