The Martian type Movie genre Adventure

Critics can’t stop talking about The Martian. Ridley Scott’s latest sci-fi undertaking premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, and early reactions are out of this world.

Based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir, the film stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney. During a standard expedition to Mars, a sandstorm separates the NASA astronaut from his crew, who leave him for dead. As Damon says in the trailer, he has to “science the s–t” out of the Red Planet in order to survive long enough for his team to realize he’s still alive and return to rescue him.

Variety‘s Peter Debruge called the film “an enthralling and rigorously realistic outer-space survival story,” while UPROXX’s Mike Ryan praised Damon’s performance. He tweeted “we feel his solitude and horror without the movie being bleak,” and Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson echoed this “beautifully built” casting.

Meanwhile, Mashable’s Jordan Hoffman, BuzzFeed’s Adam Vary, and The Hollywood Reporter‘s Todd McCarthy all agree that this is one of Scott’s best in a while. It’s “Ridley back in (a good) space,” writes McCarthy.

The Martian also features Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Michael Pena, and Sean Bean. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on Oct. 2.

Read more reactions to The Martian out of TIFF below.