Ever wonder what it’s like to wake up on a spaceship alone with no recollection of how you got there? I haven’t. But Phil Lord and Christopher Miller apparently did, and decided to turn their unnecessary thought process into their latest film, “Project Hail Mary.”
A film adaptation of the 2021 novel by Andy Weir, “Project Hail Mary,” follows scientist turned elementary school teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) as he wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or how he got there.
The story quickly picks up when Grace slowly regains consciousness and learns that he was sent on a mission to uncover a strange substance that is killing the Earth’s sun.
Along the way, Grace makes an unexpected friendship with James Ortiz’s character, put into a position that, though strange at first, may be the key to saving the galaxy.
This strange pair slowly bonds and adapts to each other’s differences as they work together to solve their issues and make it back to their home planets.
As far as movies go, this one was nothing special. As far as sci-fi movies go, this was one of the greatest projects to grace theaters since the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” in 2014.
While this movie didn’t have nearly as remarkable a soundtrack, an elite cast of highly acclaimed A-list actors, emotionally overwhelming displays of emotion, coupled with the surprisingly interesting hard science fiction plotline or the painstakingly beautiful cinematography, the point still stands.
While some viewers may be hesitant to watch the film largely due to Gosling’s presence, I’m sure they will be delighted to know that he wasn’t completely horrible in this—and considering he is the only speaking human for nearly the entirety of the 156-minute movie, that should be reassuring.
In all seriousness, Gosling’s performance in “Project Hail Mary” was nothing short of transcendent. Very few actors in this decade could convincingly stand alone as the sole character in a movie. I just never thought the same guy who played Ken from “Barbie” would be the one to do it.
Beyond Gosling’s performance, “Project Hail Mary” is a good movie. That’s it. Good. Decent. Proficient. Remarkably average.
I know earlier I said this was one of the greatest sci-fi movies to exist, but that’s really because it’s common knowledge that sci-fi movies are inherently terrible films that appeal only to those who are either nine-year-old boys or will watch anything set in space.
The plotline was sufficient but lacking, and was paced in a way that was both rushed and stalled.
If you are starting to have conflicting views about the film, you are going through only a third of what it felt like watching it. I think it was enjoyable, but I was also too tired from watching the same scene over and over for twenty minutes to tell.
If there is one thing to take away from this review, let it be this: aliens are cool, science is confusing and sometimes Ryan Gosling ends up saving planets for no clear reason—but it works anyway.