The Martian proves to be a light, pleasant watch...

The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott -- in rare form, is a throwback to those brave days of space exploration, peppered with enough wry wit and thrills to keep you entertained. But essentially, it is a nod to indomitable human will, initiative and the thirst to go where no man has gone before.

In Watney's iconic style, it's about 'scienceing the sh** out of" your nightmares. His unflinching determination and persistence to survive is a story you don't want to miss. Go for it.

At the end of the day, the guys behind The Martian do know that nitpicking cannot spoil an out-and-out thrilling ride to Mars. You've got to give it to them. Go book your trip to Mars this week. And guess what, you'll have a better shot at survival there than Watney. You don't need to get hydrogen and oxygen to create water any longer... Mars will take care of that.

Much like George Miller earlier this year with Mad Max: Fury Road, it is impressive to see Scott so much in command of his craft, especially when back home, the career span of a director is barely ten or fifteen years.

Scott has never been known for comedic films, so his grasp on timing is a welcome change from all the serious stuff he’s done previously. His recent films have suffered because of lousy scripts, so teaming up with Cabin in the Woods’ Godard on such strong source material nicely complements Scott’s mastery over visual storytelling. The result is a very funny movie, with big sci fi spectacle, thrilling space exploration visuals and also a couple of life lessons. What more could you possibly ask for?

Unlike Gravity, which was at its best a unique sensory experience, The Martian rarely tries to overwhelm us with scale or spectacle. Instead—and this might sound weird—Scott’s film is mainly a wry comedy, one which smoothly transfers the castaway narrative to outer space.