“The Martian” finds Ridley Scott new life on Mars
With “Gravity” (2013) and “Interstellar” (2014) firmly dominating the epic extraterrestrial disaster genre, it is a suicide mission to enter their orbit for fear of entering that black hole of comparison. Director Ridley Scott takes on this challenge with his “The Martian” (2015), based on Andy Weir’s eponymous 2011 novel and crafts a light-hearted thrill-ride with enough pace and levity to escape the genre’s event horizon.