In the latest man versus nature movie, The Martian shows the brilliance behind a single mind and the will of someone, when faced with death, to stay alive and return home.

The Martian follows the story of astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) who is left behind on Mars after a heavy sand storm forces the NASA crew to abandon their mission. During the evacuation, Watney is separated from the others and the crew, who believes he’s dead, leaves without him.

The viewer follows three storylines – Watney struggling to survive on the red planet, his crewmates in space dealing with their shock and guilt, and NASA handling the media and rescue logistics on the ground.

As NASA shockingly learns Watney survived the accident, the solo astronaut must use all his cunning to stay alive on the red planet until he can be rescued. He records all of his observations and struggles, noting humorously that to survive, he’s “going to have science the s*** out of this.”

In the face of danger, Damon brings Watney’s wry personality to life. After using his botany skills to grow potatoes where no food has ever grown, the astronaut proclaims himself, “the best botanist on Mars.” Later, he relishes the fact that he has technically “colonized Mars” and asks NASA to refer to him as Pirate Blondebeard.

Watney faces both the best and the worst on the planet, and the audience is taken for a ride as we watch, hoping that he can find a way back home. He hilariously laments only having discos music to listen to and running out of ketchup after eating only potatoes for months and months. He digs up a radioactive isotope to keep him warm for his 3,200 kilometer journey to the Ares 4 site. We see Watney fail, succeed, fail, and succeed again, cheering his little victories and cringing at his failures. One heart-wrenching scene finds Watney finally erupting in a fit of anger after he blows up the Hab.

This movie, adapted from Andy Weir’s best-seller is a must watch (and read) for any one with the time on their hands. With the exception of the ending, the film adaptation stays pretty close to the book and all the viewer misses are the little details behind how Watney survives the planet.

Director Ridley Scott’s Mars is a beauty to behold with breathtaking desert landscapes and rocky red features. While some of the NASA characters might seem a little underdeveloped, Damon embodies the sarcastic and snarky Mark Watney.

I highly encourage more than a single bucket of popcorn and a trip to the bathroom beforehand, though. You won’t want to miss a second in this thrilling movie.