Movie Review: Project Hail Mary
Rating: 4 Stars
From the directorial duo that brought you nonstop laughter in 21 Jump Street and a surprisingly heartfelt animation, The Lego Movie, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller take on the perils of saving the world in a daring, contemplative space adventure with Project Hail Mary.
Miller and Lord actually remove much of the contemplation involved in the novel. Andy Weir’s book more deeply explores the scientific aspects of going on a space mission to save the world from an alien biological cell that’s eating the sun. Weir’s previous work turned film adaptation, The Martian, also concerned a lone man in space seeking survival by applying science.
The Martian’s ingenuity was that the world had to band together to help save one man stranded on Mars. Project Hail Mary follows the journey of a man on a mission to save humanity from extinction. One may contemplate the effects of the perilous state Earth would be in, knowing that a doomsday clock is in effect. Project Hail Mary addresses the threat, but doesn’t linger there long.
Instead, Project Hail Mary is about friendship and redemption. It’s a feel-good movie. A uniquely visually breathtaking feel-good movie.
The film centers around a middle school science teacher, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling). He wakes up in space with limited memory and quickly pieces together that he’s been blasted into space on a mission to save humanity from Astrophage. Astrophage is an alien cellular organism that feeds on stars, which isn’t great for life in a solar system that depends on the energy of its star.
Grace has flashbacks to his time prior to the mission on Earth, being recruited to the Hail Mary Project by the commanding Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller). Stratt is no-nonsense and employs a militaristic approach to her mission of killing off Astrophage to save humanity. Undoubtedly, she’ll have to make a tough decision.
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Gosling’s take on Grace, and maybe moreso Lord and Miller’s take, is for Grace to be a comedic and endearing vehicle for a whimsical space adventure to solve the Astrophage problem. I personally don’t consider Gosling as the ideal actor to portray Grace, but I imagine he fits the Lord’s and Miller’s vision for this adaptation. Gosling’s eyes do well to convey wonder, fear, and joy which helps him carry the weight of a heavy solo role.
Well, not entirely solo. Grace happens upon an alien spaceship in a scene that quickly shifts from funny to frightening in a mere instant. Any scene in space where a human climbs into a pitch-black tunnel will make me think of Alien.
Grace meets the fan-favorite of Project Hail Mary, Rocky. Rocky is an “Eridian” creature shaped like a rock with five tentacle-like arms. He sounds grosser than he is. Grace and Rocky learn to communicate and learn that they each are facing the same Astrophage problem.
The bond developed between Grace and Rocky carries the bulk of the film. Rocky helps Grace discover his inner courage. The ending payoff I fathom is unexpected for those going into this film blind.
The film’s most transcendent moment is above a planet Grace ironically names Adrian. Grace has to use a kilometer-long makeshift fishing net that Rocky constructs in order to collect a biological sample that may be an Astrophage predator. The emotional tension in the scene, paired with the stunning visuals, will likely stick with me forever. It’s one of those scenes that I guarantee will be replayed hundreds of millions of times on YouTube.
There are other visual effects achieved that take this film to a different level. Without the level of care taken in the cinematography and effects, Project Hail Mary wouldn’t hold up as well to scrutiny. I would argue Interstellar has a more impactful story, but Project Hail Mary decided to find its strength in its theme and awe-inspiring visual moments. Daniel Pemberton’s soundtrack is also well worth a mention. His musical score distinguishes itself from generic space-synthesized electronic music while still generating a sound that accentuates the emotion of each scene.
Author Andy Weir is a producer on this film (one of 16 total listed on IMDB), which he wasn’t on The Martian. Project Hail Mary does employ the same screenwriter from The Martian, Drew Goddard. Goddard previously had a set of horror films, including Cloverfield, Cabin in the Woods, and World War Z. While Gosling and Huller have most of the human screen time in Project Hail Mary, Lionel Boyce from The Bear gets a fun bit role that he excels at as a security guard who befriends Grace.
For disclosure, I watched Project Hail Mary the same day I finished the audiobook. An even better read by the way, for those interested. I was aware of the script culling major book sequences or slight adjustments to the material. I have my minor personal disappointments, but I made peace with what the film wanted to accomplish versus what the book achieved. Weir’s books have great movie premises, but it takes a deft writer to adapt his science-intensive narratives into a film the masses can enjoy. A toast to you, Drew Goddard.
Michael Crichton is my favorite author, and while I’m not claiming to be well-read (I read most of his work in my teenage years), Andy Weir has his moments where he reminds me of Crichton. One of Crichton’s specialties was the visualization of characters interacting with scientific perils. Of course, Jurassic Park is the shining example of such an adaptation. Weir has captured that same essence and has two blockbuster smash hits. The man has a gift.
