Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s best seller, and his third film set in outer space, is a gripping drama of survival infused with warmth and humor. Matt Damon plays astronaut/botanist Mark Watney, left for dead when a lethal sandstorm forces his crewmates to cut their mission to Mars short with an emergency liftoff. Like Robinson Crusoe, Watney uses his ingenuity and knowledge to survive on the mission’s still-functioning base as he awaits rescue, while back on earth the NASA team (Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Community star Donald Glover) and his former crew members in space (led by Jessica Chastain) pull out all the stops to bring him home. As ever with Scott, the filmmaking is dynamic, the visuals spectacular, and the cast note-perfect. Anchored by another winning performance from Damon, this is what-if, problem-solving drama at its absolute finest. A 20th Century Fox release.