How close is the film 'The Martian' to Reality?

I agree with Robert Frost's opinion on this. The Martian's engineering assumptions are quite close to reality, despite several key pieces of technology that haven't been invented yet. It's physics side is a bit weaker, namely the storm, but without the storm the book/movie would lose its key premise. read more

I'm uncertain what you mean by “close to reality”. If you're asking how close is the science described/used in the book, the answer is “closer than most science fiction.” read more

While some science fiction films have the characters whizzing from point to point, "The Martian" reveals the brutal reality of spaceflight: It would take about eight months to get to or from Mars with current technology. read more