Nutshell: The Sun and many other stars are dying, apparently being eaten up by a mysterious microscopic alien. So obviously the task of saving the universe falls to a middle school science teacher (a flawless Ryan Gosling) who doesn’t even want the job. He’s a few dozen light-years from Earth and utterly alone until he unexpectedly finds the friend he so desperately needs in a rock- solid fellow spacefarer.

Space romps have been around as long as movies have. But every once in a while you get a game-changer. Like The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, 2001, Star Wars and Star Trek, Alien, Close Encounters, Contact. You get the idea. To Infinity and beyond! This sci-fi/buddy comedy/survival thriller falls into that august category. It just happens to be more fun.

A good movie is one that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and makes you think. Check, check and check. I read the source novel of the same name by Andy Weir (The Martian), and going in I was wondering how anyone could even begin to make a movie out of such a long and scientifically detailed (read: potentially boring) book.

Enter directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, whose bona fides include The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider- Verse. They simply nailed it, even improved upon it in parts. It’s a complex plot that asks big questions, but a joy to watch unfold and genuinely moving in parts. And kudos to Drew Goddard, my early fave for 2027’s adapted screenplay Oscar.

Long movie. Doesn’t seem like it. Biggest screen you can find, please. (156 min)