PROJECT HAIL MARY (2026)
- phillipsdavis136
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
An Old-Fashioned Adventure with A Warm and Fresh Twist.
Grade: A+
Project Hail Mary is a beautiful, fun, and funny space adventure, a feel-good flick about courage, perseverance, and friendship beyond the stars. It was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the duo behind 2014’s The LEGO Movie, is written by Drew Goddard, and is based on a novel by Andy Weir, whose book The Martian had been made into another excellent movie in 2015 (also written by Goddard). The talent is rounded out here by a perfectly cast Ryan Gosling who, like Matt Damon in The Martian, plays a human who is all alone millions of miles out in space-but he doesn’t stay this way.
The movie begins with Gosling’s character, Dr. Ryland Grace, waking up aboard a spaceship far from Earth, unable to remember how he got here. He finds both his companions are dead and slowly recalls how he was once a middle school science teacher who was ostracized by the scientific community for his unusual beliefs about life. He was recruited by the U.S. Government to investigate a mysterious interstellar bacteria dubbed “astrophage” consuming the sun’s rays, threatening to plunge Earth into a new ice age. Only one star within thousands of lightyears is unaffected by the astrophage, and a team of astronauts is chosen to venture into space and find out why. The truth about why Grace was chosen for this mission is gradually revealed throughout, as well as the true extent of his character’s development.
As Grace’s ship, the Hail Mary, draws near to the star, something unexpected happens-another spaceship appears. After a series of amusing mishaps, Grace comes into contact with its sole occupant: a sentient rock with five limbs who communicates through strange noises and detailed models it constructs Grace learns that the alien, whom he dubs “Rocky” (voiced by James Ortiz) has been sent on a mission identical to his, and they work together to solve the mystery of the astrophage and save both their worlds.
Project Hail Mary is filled with beautiful cinematography and visual effects and sports an incredible score by Daniel Pemberton. Gosling puts in a fine performance as a teacher who goes from being washed-up scientist to scared, reluctant astronaut and finally to interstellar hero and friend. But where the movie shines the most is in the companionship between Grace and Rocky. The early scenes of them attempting to communicate are quite funny, and Grace eventually develops a program that translates Rocky’s noises into words. As their relationship grows, so does their chemistry-no small feat, considering Rocky is literally, well, a rock. Apparently, he was made as an actual, physical puppet instead of CGI. Ortiz and those involved in Rocky's creation and movement did an outstanding job in portraying him as funny, likeable character who can stand his own with Gosling. By the end of the movie, Grace and Rocky become close friends who will go to great lengths to save each other, and the acting, writing, effects and direction make it all believable.
If it wasn’t for this relationship, it is questionable whether Project Hail Mary would be nearly as great as it is, even with all the technical triumphs on display. One thing moviegoers are quick to pick up, especially today, is similarities between movies, and this movie appears to wear its inspirations on its sleeve. The friendship between a human and an alien is somewhat reminiscent of E.T. (1982). The mission to save the dying sun is a variant of the plot of Sunshine (2007). The most thrilling sequence, in which a damaged Hail Mary is spinning out of control in a planet’s atmosphere, recalls Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014). And the early scenes of Grace and Rocky trying to talk with a barrier between them are practically out of Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016). But because of Gosling’s performance and his scenes with Rocky, the film is able to move and delight, transcending these inspirations to become a masterpiece in its own right.
Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Screenplay: Drew Goddard (Based on the novel by Andy Weir)
Producers: Ryan Gosling, Amy Pascal, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Aditya Sood, Rachel O'Connor, Andy Weir
Cast: Ryan Gosling (Dr. Ryland Grace), Sandra Huller (Eva Stratt), James Ortiz (Rocky), Lionel Boyce (Carl)
Rated: PG-13 (for some thematic material and suggestive references)
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