Project Hail Mary, the highly anticipated adaption of Andy Weir’s 2021 bestselling novel, arrived in theaters on March 20.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, this movie follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle school science teachers who wakes up on a spaceship light-years away from home with no memory of who he is or how he got there. His memory slowly returns, and he realizes his humanity’s last shot at survival. Earth’s sun is dying, and he has to figure out why. On his voyage he makes a friend, Rocky, a lonely alien on the mission to save his own sun.
I’m always down for a well-done sci-fi, and this one does not disappoint. It hooked me from the start, and the story was extremely clever–the science felt true and grounded, something I appreciated.
The visuals in this movie are absolutely breathtaking. The spacecraft sequences and the expansive shots of deep space were jaw-dropping. One detail that caught my eye was the aspect ratio shift between the flashbacks and the present storyline–this small touch added a really smart layer of visual storytelling.
Ryan Gosling and Sandra Hüller did a wonderful job portraying the raw side of humanity when left to hope. Gosling’s performance was very impressive, considering a huge portion of the film has him acting with Rocky, the alien character brought to life through puppetry. Rocky was voiced as well as puppeteer-ed by James Ortiz. There’s no co-star to bounce off of or human face to react to, yet Gosling makes every scene feel completely genuine. Gosling and Ortiz’s performances were funny, vulnerable, and made you root for both throughout the movie. And do not underestimate how attached you’ll get to Rocky. The friendship between Grace and Rocky is the true heart of this movie.
The pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout, constantly itching for the next move; with scenes that made me laugh while also having some that made me tear up a bit. Is it a long movie? Yes. But my only complaint is that I wish it was longer.
Project Hail Mary is exactly the kind of original, ambitious, science-driven movie Hollywood needs more of. I’d rate it a 4.8/5.
You can watch Project Hail Mary at Cinemark or Cinergy!
