An astronaut and botanist is left for dead on Mars during a severe dust storm. Now he must use his wits to find a way to contact NASA and stay alive until the next manned mission to Mars occurs.

There’s no getting around it; director Ridley Scott has been on a cold streak for a long time. Gone are the days of “Alien”, “Blade Runner” and “Gladiator.” We now live in the age of “The Counselor,” “Prometheus,” “Robin Hood” and “Exodus,” all mediocre to awful films that are black marks on Scott’s reputation.

However, a movie based on a popular book like “The Martian” looked like a chance at redemption. I was skeptical of Scott’s abilities to bring this story to life after so many duds, but “The Martian” looked great and I am always up for something that Scott is directing.

One great film does not make a comeback, but “The Martian” is certainly that, a great film. It all starts with the story of Mark Wotney (Matt Damon), a man stranded in a hostile environment where anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and the efforts of his companions to bring him home. The focus is significantly smaller than Scott’s usual fare, but he handles the story with great care, making it a suspenseful and dramatic experience.

“The Martian” is by no means an action movie, but it has the personality of one. Everything in the film feels urgent and you definitely feel the sense of danger that comes with the territory. It’s also surprisingly funny, with even the highest drama punctuated with deadpan laughs that lighten the mood.

Of course, “The Martian” wouldn’t work without a great lead character. Fortunately, Damon provides that in spades. He’s a terrific actor, and makes Wotney a determined, eternally curious man who won’t let anything get in the way of his survival. Making up the rest of the cast are a bevy of terrific actors. Seriously, who couldn’t get behind Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena or Kate Mara as astronauts? There’s also Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig and Sean Bean as NASA higher-ups trying to deal with the revelation that Wotney is still alive, stuck on Mars. Also, by not just focusing on Mark Wotney, the film stresses the importance of teamwork. For all his genius, Wotney wouldn’t have a chance to get home without other people backing him up, and everyone has a role to play in the rescue.

Other than the length, I don’t have any major complaints. “The Martian” is a magnificent, fundamentally small story that manages to be epic at the same time, told very well and with an excellent cast. It also marks a return to form for Ridley Scott, who has spent that better part of the past ten years on autopilot. Come Oscar season, expect to see “The Martian” get some very serious consideration.