Matt Damon is astronaut botanist Mark Watney, left for dead on Mars by his devastated crew after a sudden storm derailed their mission.
He's stranded alone, living in a NASA pup tent meant to last a month, with enough food for two, and his first chance at being rescued is four years and 140 million miles away.
So one thing is clear at least - he's gonna need to science the shit out of this.
Helpfully, Watney's an astronaut botanist, so he can grow stuff. He's also good at maths, and blowing things up - including himself.
Meanwhile NASA's massive brains are doing everything in their power to bring their boy home.
The world watches and it waits, but it will come down to him - and his rescuers - whether he lives or dies.
This film is a very faithful adaptation of Andy Weir's bestseller, and director Ridley Scott shows much love for his source material. And marooning Matt Damon on Mars? What's not to love about that?
He melds the lightness of the book's tone together with the more complex nature of the science with his usual accessible sense of fun and authenticity.
I can't see fans of the book (myself included) being remotely disappointed and imagine newcomers will be equally as enamoured.
Four stars.
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The Martian:: Director: Ridley Scott :: Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Donald Glover, Mackenzie Davis, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sebastian Stan:: Rating: M - Offensive language:: Running Time: 141 minutes:: Release Date: October 1, 2015
