Review: ‘Project Hail Mary’ is a fantastic feat of sci-fi storytelling
2026 / Dir. Phil Lord & Chris Miller
Rating: 3.5/5
Watch if you like: A mix of the step-by-step problem-solving of The Martian with the expansive, save-the-universe vibes of Interstellar, with a bit of Cast Away for good measure.
Blinding red and blue lights emerge from the darkness of my IMAX theater as Project Hail Mary begins, eventually focusing on a zipper on a bag containing a shaggy, bearded, and confused Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), who panics as a computer voice from a robotic arm tries to run a diagnostic check on him. He freaks out and runs from his room, only to find he is the only living person aboard a spaceship headed toward a sun in a solar system that’s not our own, and he has no memory of who he is or how he got there.
Grace tries to piece together what’s going on by wandering the ship and sorting through the belongings of the two dead crew members he finds. This creates a flashback structure where we learn that a microscopic organism dubbed an astrophage has been eating the sun, causing it to dim, with the possibility of creating a new ice age on Earth within. Grace, now a middle school teacher, is recruited by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall), a comedically stoic coordinator of a united front of multinational scientists, to investigate the astrophages based on a widely dismissed paper he wrote that killed his scientific credibility, but makes him the perfect candidate to study the alien threat.
Based on the book by Andy Weir (which I haven’t read), Project Hail Mary was adapted by Drew Goddard, who previously tackled the other widely known Weir novel, The Martian, for Ridley Scott. Like The Martian, much of the enjoyment in this movie comes from the continual puzzle-solving rather than from space-opera thrills, though there are a couple of standout space-mission sequences and plenty of the broad, goofy humor Gosling’s most recent roles have relied on since his stint as Ken in Barbie. In both space and the flashbacks on Earth, Grace and the other scientists are focused on how a mysterious planet may be disrupting the astrophages’ endless hunger for energy and could be the key to preventing our destruction. I have no idea whether there’s anything other than science fiction nonsense here, but it’s generally thrilling watching all the pieces come together.
Those pieces expand when Grace encounters a spindly, geometric alien ship that, in the silliest sequence of the movie, he tries to fly away from repeatedly as the alien vessel moves precisely next to him over and over until he gives up. This is when he encounters this rock spider crab creature, which he dubs “Rocky,” who is also there to save his planet from the astrophages. The two have to learn how to communicate and navigate two very different sets of intelligence (Rocky is a superior engineer to anything we have on earth, but is unaware of relativity and experiences everything through echolocation).
Project Hail Mary may immediately recall movies like Interstellar and Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, but it’s the relationship between Grace and Rocky that’s the true heart of the movie and what makes it stand out. Rocky has nothing discernible as a face, and while not grotesque, it isn’t cute or cuddly either. Everything about him is truly alien, and even when, later in the film, Grace can give him a translated voice, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller resist the big studio urge to give him a recognizable actor’s voice, instead settling for a slightly robotic, neutral one portrayed by Rocky’s puppeteer, James Ortiz. This results in a beautiful emotional bond and truly remarkable feat that put me close to tears.
A testament to Ryan Gosling’s talents, he deserves tremendous credit for being able to sell the key relationship between actor and puppet. Though his character starts as basically “what if Ken from Barbie was a scientist?” he’s able to subtly transition and take Grace from a goofy middle school teacher who uses bumbling humor as a smokescreen for his insecurities and loneliness to a hero capable of more than he ever imagined. I can’t think of anyone who could have made this role work as well as he does, even if it strains credulity to have an A-list leading man play a loser science teacher.
Backing up Gosling’s performance is a dedication to craft. While still using VFX, Lord and Miller avoided green screens by constructing the interior and exterior of Grace’s ship and bringing Rocky to life with a combination of traditional puppetry and special effects. And the times where they clearly have to lean into VFX are few and far between, with only a handful of scenes of Gosling having to accomplish a task out in space. Steering away from many traditional action-adventure sequences, Project Hail Mary’s version of space and alien planets relies heavily on psychedelic lighting effects and unique art direction that look fantastic in IMAX. Though it’s never not a big-budget studio sci-fi adventure, there’s so much care here in making sure everything is done right, instead of taking easy shortcuts.
Truly a crowd pleaser, there’s something for everyone to love in Project Hail Mary, whether it’s the heartfelt relationship between Grace and Rocky, the goofy humor, or the “hard science fiction” approach to problem-solving. At the very least, middle-school science classes are going to be watching this for the next decade so their teachers can try to make their kids think they’re as cool as Ryan Gosling.