I went in nearly completely blind. I watched some of the trailer and had read some comments comparing it to The Martian but really didn’t know much about it beyond that. I was very surprised by the style and tone of the film. I guess I just expected a rather generic but solid “save the world” type sci-fi action film, but this had a lot of charm and creativity.
I read that they had a nearly 4-hour edit of the film originally and I am very curious to know what they cut from that because, despite this not being particularly long at 2 hours 36 minutes, it felt very long in the cinema. To me, that’s a sign of the wrong choices being made about what to cut and what to keep. For example, there was way too much cheap comedy in the opening half hour of the film that added very little but extended the runtime and, crucially, undercut the warmer and more impactful humour that came later. I think it also suffers a bit from having too many cuts and jumping around too much in certain periods of the film. Longer films need longer scenes that keep you engaged, but this film has sections where it’s constantly snapping the rubber band.
The main character also felt very underdeveloped for is ultimately a story with very personal stakes. He briefly alludes to having a meaningful relationship but we never see any flashbacks relating to this. He’s also an incredibly smart scientist working as a middle school teacher - why? Again, the film hints that he’s been ostracised by the scientific community but this explanation never has any substance to it. The crux of the film was really about his personal journey to overcome his fears and move on from his past, but this feels lacking because his past isn’t sufficiently explored to add the required weight to his big decisions.
In a way, I’m quite disappointed because I feel like this film had the potential to be a true classic. However, despite the flaws it’s very ambitious, creative and has a lot of soul and I always prefer that over competent but generic Hollywood action.
I saw Project Hail Mary tonight.
Spoilers
I went in nearly completely blind. I watched some of the trailer and had read some comments comparing it to The Martian but really didn’t know much about it beyond that. I was very surprised by the style and tone of the film. I guess I just expected a rather generic but solid “save the world” type sci-fi action film, but this had a lot of charm and creativity.
I read that they had a nearly 4-hour edit of the film originally and I am very curious to know what they cut from that because, despite this not being particularly long at 2 hours 36 minutes, it felt very long in the cinema. To me, that’s a sign of the wrong choices being made about what to cut and what to keep. For example, there was way too much cheap comedy in the opening half hour of the film that added very little but extended the runtime and, crucially, undercut the warmer and more impactful humour that came later. I think it also suffers a bit from having too many cuts and jumping around too much in certain periods of the film. Longer films need longer scenes that keep you engaged, but this film has sections where it’s constantly snapping the rubber band.
The main character also felt very underdeveloped for is ultimately a story with very personal stakes. He briefly alludes to having a meaningful relationship but we never see any flashbacks relating to this. He’s also an incredibly smart scientist working as a middle school teacher - why? Again, the film hints that he’s been ostracised by the scientific community but this explanation never has any substance to it. The crux of the film was really about his personal journey to overcome his fears and move on from his past, but this feels lacking because his past isn’t sufficiently explored to add the required weight to his big decisions.
In a way, I’m quite disappointed because I feel like this film had the potential to be a true classic. However, despite the flaws it’s very ambitious, creative and has a lot of soul and I always prefer that over competent but generic Hollywood action.