The once-great Sir Ridley Scott started the decade with a series of uneventful films. This is the guy responsible for acclaimed films like “Alien,” “Blade Runner,” “Thelma & Louise,” “Gladiator” and “Black Hawk Down.” Quite the resume. But he also directed “Hannibal,” “Robin Hood” and last year’s “Exodus.” And those are just a few of his less engaging pursuits.

Matt Damon stars as an astronaut stranded on Mars in “The Martian.” (photo courtesy of Fox Pictures)

He even returned to sci-fi in 2012 with “Prometheus,” a prequel to his first foray into the genre. While I enjoyed it, most people felt underwhelmed. And now he’s back to the genre he once dominated with “The Martian,” based on the novel by Andy Weir. The premise has potential: astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left for dead on Mars during the first manned mission to the red planet. He has no choice but to create his own water and food amid unforgiving terrain. Meanwhile, folks back on Earth join together to help him get home.

Alas, that promising story could also go very, very bad. Dare I say boring. To my surprise and relief, it isn’t dreadful at all. For the first time this year, all the Oscar buzz surrounding a film makes sense. But before I tip my hat to Scott and declare his reascension to grace, I have a theory. It’s a simple one, but one I imagine holds true. As happy as I am for Scott, I’m rather convinced most of the credit belongs to screenwriter Drew Goddard.

You might know little to nothing about this word-ninja, but he’s responsible for many great works on screens big and small. He collaborated with J.J. Abrams on “Alias” and “Lost” and Joss Whedon on “Buffy” and “Angel,” he co-wrote and directed “The Cabin in the Woods” and brought Netflix series “Daredevil” to life as creator and executive producer.

Goddard knows his way around a good concept, so it’s no wonder “The Martian” turned a lifeless planet into something wonderfully human.

Now, unlike “Cast Away,” which spends most of the film on a deserted island, “The Martian” doesn’t solely focus on Damon’s character Mark Watney. He gets most of the screen time, but NASA and many other teams do their best to figure out how to save someone on another planet

I’m just going to list the ridiculous number of familiar faces in the categories of supporting and bit roles: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristin Wiig, Michael Peña, Kate Marra, Sean Bean, Mackenzie Davis (Cameron from AMC’s “Halt and Catch Fire”), Donald Glover (Troy from “Community”) and Sebastian Stan (Bucky from both “Captain America” films). I need to rehydrate; I just drooled too much.

Those are just the familiar names. This cast is enormous, but it never feels overstuffed. It merely shows how many people it takes to help one person. And thankfully, Goddard’s script knows how to balance screen time for both planets.

Go back in space-movie history. We’ve seen this story before – and on this planet. If we saw only Mark’s plight, it would be an exhausting and quiet film. Luckily, “The Martian” chronicles his day-to-day activities with a GoPro camera, providing many of the film’s comedic moments.

More pressing news: Damon is actually funny. Sure, his ongoing rivalry with Jimmy Kimmel is splendid, but the man doesn’t normally bother with anything remotely funny. He’s too busy drinking with Ben Affleck or forgetting his identity while remembering his martial arts training.

Damon provides what might go down as his crowning performance. This is the right amount of depth for him. Frustration, bitter positivity and even some cringe-worthy pain concoct a character of pure empathy. Everything about him goes down easy, and his performance makes even the bloated, sentimental scenes of scientists around the world helping and people in the most random of countries and continents rooting for the guy easier to swallow. Corny? Yes, but Damon’s a likable dude throughout.

Few films balance comedy, thrills and visual spectacle like “The Martian,” making Scott and Goddard an unstoppable team that needs to reunite soon. Even if the film’s concept sounds dull or less interesting than Neil Patrick Harris’ new show, just get over yourself and watch it.

I can understand why some people don’t enjoy a good “Mad Max” film (they’re just crazy – that’s it), but “The Martian” is the surprise of fall, and I pray awards season understands.