The Martian opened last week coincidentally after NASA’s discovery of liquid water on Mars. People all over the world are enamored by the red planet and the infinite secrets it holds. No doubt the recent Martian discovery drew in more moviegoers to the new film. According to Rotten Tomatoes, The Martian has pulled in more than $108 Million since its opening, Oct. 2. The movie has also received a 93 percent from Rotten Tomatoes critics—a grade they do not give to many movies.

There have been three sequential space movies released the past few autumns: Gravity in Oct. 2013, Interstellar in Nov. 2014 and now The Martian in Oct. 2015. Is there a growing trend? If so, the next one has big shoes to fill.

The Martian, based on the book by Andy Weir and directed by Ridley Scott, follows American astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) who is thought to be dead and left on Mars by his fellow crewmates. With no communication with his crew or NASA, Watney tries to survive alone on the hostile red planet with limited oxygen, food and water. After learning that he is still alive, NASA scientists work around-the-clock to find a way to rescue him.

There is a joke going around the internet that Hollywood is spending a lot of money on yet another movie about rescuing Matt Damon, referring to both Saving Private Ryan and Interstellar. Except in this movie, Damon has more of a role in his own rescue, not acting like a damsel in distress. As long as Hollywood continues to produce movies like The Martian, than by all means continue the trend.

This film has a refreshing mix of smart characters doing smart things, but it doesn’t sacrifice the plot to develop the characters. Watney, for example, runs into a problem, thinks about it, and comes to a solution on his own.

The smart characters are brought to life by a talented group of actors: Matt Damon, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig and Michael Peña. Damon gave a stellar performance as the stranded scientist with a determination to live. It really feels like Damon is the only human on Mars. The stress and riskiness of the situation is clear on the faces of the actors and enhanced by subtle music.

The movie overall feels very realistic. The video logs Damon’s character confides in throughout the film chronicle the mind of a man who is alone and fearing for his life, while staying positive and determined to live. When a new character or location is introduced, there is a caption stating the location or person’s name and job. This adds a consistent and almost documentary aspect to the film.

The long panning shots of the Martian landscape have a lonely beauty to them. Although there is a lot of scientific jargon used in the film, audiences can still understand what is going on without getting lost in the science of the movie.

The film finds a very good balance between suspense and humor, lightening the mood with perfectly-timed quips and even an occasional disco song. One example comes when Watney dips his ration of plain potato into some Vicodin (because there is no one there to tell him otherwise) and solemnly says, “I ran out of ketchup seven days ago.”

There is not much to criticize about the film. It is an excellent movie worthy of some Oscar buzz; full of great acting and a good balance of humor and suspense that will have viewers sitting on the edges of their seats and laughing out loud.