Project Hail Mary

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Expectation:

Reality: 🤯😭🥰

(Check out my star rating rubric)

Project Hail Mary synopsis: Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction...but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

It’s not often I manage to go into a movie 100% blind, but when I tell you I am so glad Project Hail Mary is the one I pulled it off with—I didn’t even read the synopsis above before the screening. I almost left it out of this review but it’s vague enough and I figure the average movie-goer doesn’t want to go in blind 😆

Project Hail Mary is a very popular book by Andy Weir. I haven’t read it, I’ve just seen a ton of 5-star reviews on Fable as people are reading and re-reading an anticipation of the movie. I love to read but I don’t like comparing adaptations to the source material, I prefer to look at them as separate entities. Though I will admit that had I read the book synopsis I probably wouldn’t have been interested in this story and seeing the film (which I’ll also admit I mostly did for Ryan Gosling) I was very interested in this story.

This film is impressive all around. From the story to the sound to the set design, everything is perfect.

If you had told me I was going to see Ryan Gosling befriend a [redacted - spoiler] I would’ve said umm, what? No thanks… But it works.

Project Hail Mary is 2 hours and 36 minutes long, but it’s very well paced. I didn’t feel the time at all. The storytelling had me locked in and engaged the whole time. I understood the motivations of every character. Nothing felt out of place.

It’s laugh out loud funny (the entire theater was giggling consistently), yet deeply emotional. Gosling expertly shows off all his layers, as usual.

This film has high stakes, humor, and heart, what more could you want?!

I’m not usually into space movies and this absolutely blew me away. I’m curious to hear what people who understand the science think. I have no connection to that world and didn’t need it to make sense, so I easily accepted the explanations the film gave, but I could see that being something people nitpick about.

Project Hail Mary opens in theaters nationwide on March 20th.

If you see it — come back and let me know on my contact page. I’d love to hear your thoughts!