Project Hail Mary, rated PG-13
****
Project Hail Mary is a brilliant film adaptation of a science fiction novel written by Adam Weir, who also wrote The Martian, which became a film starring Matt Damon.
The film is directed by Oscar winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and written by Oscar nominee Drew Goddard (The Martian), and Andy Weir (The Martian). The film is based on Weir’s 2021 novel Project Hail Mary.
The film begins with Dr. Rylan Grace, splayed by three-time Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (Barbie, La La Land, Half Nelson), waking up from an induced coma to find his two crewmates dead, and no memory of why he’s in a spaceship that is 12 light years from Earth and rapidly approaching a star called Tau Ceti. As his memory slowly returns, he begins to recall his mission. He remembers reluctantly explaining it to his middle school science class. It was called Project Hail Mary, and he had worked on it.
Much of the film then goes between Grace’s realization of the purpose of his mission and the events that led to the mission. Grace has been recruited by Eva Stratt, played by Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), to save the world. Grace, along with many other scientists, have been told that an infection affecting the sun is causing the sun to die. As a result, in the next few decades, life on earth will largely cease to exist.
Along the way, Grace meets an alien he calls “Rocky”, voiced by James Ortiz, whose planet is also under threat. Grace and Rocky soon learn how to communicate and develop a close relationship. Will Grace and Rocky be able to accomplish their missions and save the world?
The film had a gross budget of approximately $248 million ($200 million after tax credits), and runs just over two and a half hours. It includes a lot of humor and is visually stunning. Gosling was excellent in the role of Grace, in basically a one man show. The impressive musical score is by Oscar nominee Daniel Pemberton (The Trial of the Chicago 7).
The film has minimal content concerns, primarily a few scenes of intense violence.
Project Hail Mary is a well-made and acted film that includes some heart-felt moments.
