In the past, I wouldn't normally go to see a blockbuster movie on its opening weekend—I hate having to arrive early and wait in line for a long time to get a good seat—but with the advent of reserved seating, that is no longer a big concern. Plus, unlike some other movies shown in Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) and Atmos immersive sound, I was truly excited to see The Martian, which opened last Friday in theaters around the country, including the eight Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime locations. As usual, I went to see it at the AMC Burbank 16 Dolby Cinema at Prime auditorium.

Based on an excellent novel of the same name by Andy Weir and directed by Ridley Scott, The Martian tells the harrowing tale of astronaut/botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon), part of the Ares III manned mission to Mars, who is mistakenly left for dead as the rest of the crew blasts off to escape a savage storm. His fight for survival and wisecracking attitude—as well as the machinations at NASA once they learn Watney is alive—make for a fine, fun movie.

Of course, there are many details and a few entire incidents in the book that didn't make it onto the screen, but that's to be expected—as it is, the movie is a fairly long 2 hours and 22 minutes. My one big complaint in this regard is that it has an added ending that goes beyond the end of the book. I won't give any spoilers here, but suffice to say that, having read the book, it felt unnecessary to me, though I've talked with others who saw the movie without having read the book, and they thought the ending was fine.

Also, the movie felt a bit choppy to me, with slightly uneven pacing. And the music didn't always fit the mood completely, though there was plenty of '70s pop and disco, which supports a particular plot point well. I was also disappointed that Jimi Hendrix singing "All Along the Watchtower" was not used in the movie; it was very effective in the trailer.

So how was the HDR? For the most part, awesome! The black of space was truly black in most cases; the opening pan across space to Mars wasn't as deep black as I expected, but other such shots were phenomenal, and dark shots with deep shadows looked far more realistic than any conventional commercial cinema. There were very few full black-field interstitials; the ones at the very beginning and just before the end credits literally disappeared, but the one that precedes the added ending did not, which had to have been a creative decision.

Bright shots were superb, though certainly not eye-searing. Overall, the imagery is stunning, from the desolate Martian landscapes to NASA headquarters to shots of Earth and Mars from space; this movie offers some serious eye candy along with a compelling and entertaining story. The DCP (digital cinema package, the file that's delivered to the theater) was 4K, whereas I learned that the Dolby Vision DCPs for The Scorch Trials and Everest were both 2K, which I didn't know when I saw them in the same theater. The Martian was certainly sharp, but so were the previous two movies, demonstrating once again that increasing pixel resolution beyond a certain point is not all that important.

All in all, The Martian is a fine example of HDR grading and presentation. As I am wont to do if I can, after the HDR screening, I peeked into another auditorium showing it in standard dynamic range, which looked pretty dull by comparison. I happened to catch a pan from space to Earth, and the black of space was definitely more of a dark gray. Also, shadow detail wasn't nearly as good, and the image wasn't as bright.

The Atmos soundtrack is exceptional, especially in the opening storm scene with wind, sand, and various objects being blown around—it really felt like I was in the middle of it all. There are plenty of other scenes in which the immersive sound was very effective, and like several recent movies with Atmos soundtracks, the music was mixed into the surround and overhead speakers, which worked very well to open up the entire soundscape. Unfortunately, my sound pressure-level (SPL) app seemed to be misbehaving again—it reported an Lmax (maximum 1-second RMS level) of 156 dBC and an Lmin (minimum  1-second RMS level) of 104 dBC! The movie is loud, but not that loud!

If you live near one of the eight currently operational Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime locations in the US or the two locations in the Netherlands— see the full list here —I strongly recommend seeing The Martian in Dolby Vision HDR and Atmos sound there. You will be rewarded with what I consider to be the best cinematic experience available today—and a great movie, to boot!