Review: Project Hail Mary

Official synopsis: Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing the sun, and save Earth. An unexpected friendship may be the key.

Andy Weir is an author I've really come to enjoy over the past decade. I enjoyed Project Hail Mary too, and I already knew Gosling was in line to play this role while reading it. So how does the film stack up even with my book reader expectations?

Pretty darn good! I will admit, tonally the two mediums are quite different. It's no surprise that directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller leaned heavily into the comedic moments. It's what they're good at, and it works more often than it doesn't. 

Ryan Gosling is really the perfect actor to tackle someone like Grace. He has the perfect balance between comedic and dramatic abilities. Grace is a dorky middle school science teacher, but he's a damn smart and deserves his place among the top scientists in the world. He's a good foil for the more serious Stratt. (Sandra Hüller)

Then there's the Rocky (James Ortiz) of it all. I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring him up at all, but he's very present in the marketing and so I imagine if you're interested in seeing this film, you've probably already seen him. When I (and I assume a lot of other people) started reading this book, you weren't exactly expecting Grace to meet someone up there. Much less someone he ends up being able to affectively communicate with. When I first saw the trailer, I felt like it spoiled a surprise. But I get why the studio wouldn't see his reveal in the same way. Rocky is a draw, especially for younger viewers. I bring all this up to say that I loved Grace and Rocky's relationship on film as well. Rocky is a puppet instead of 100% CGI, and he looks fantastic. You never once question that he's anything other than what he should be. 

A lot can be said about how this film is shot. The scenes in space are shot on film, and Grace's flashbacks to his life on Earth are shot digitally. I loved the scenes in space, especially when they show the spaceship in motion. There's also a great visual gag that happens early on that I thought was brilliant. And it's all set to this beautiful whimsical score by Daniel Pemberton. Technically, this film is just excellent all around.

As much as I liked it, I do have a few complaints that mostly stem from me being a book reader, and it's that I think some of the big emotional beats are lost because they lean so heavily into the comedic elements. There were sections of the book where I was legitimately worried and where there was a lot more suspense involved, and that just doesn't translate as well to film because of the lighter tone. There's just so much levity that they don't feel as urgent. And maybe that won't bother you without the additional context of the book, or maybe you'll notice it too.

They also left a few things out that I found curious. In the book, only a small % of humans on Earth can be put into a 4 year coma without dire consequences, and that makes finding the right people for this mission hard because they HAVE to have that specific gene. I also don't think the film specifies just how long Rocky has been there before he meets Grace. In the book, he's stranded there alone for 40 some years, and that's huge after you learn more about his culture. 

Those minor book snob grievances aside, I think this is a great film and I love that we have a fun blockbuster (hopefully?) so early into 2026. I can't recommend this enough.

Grade: A-