Based on the wildly popular 2021 novel by Andy Weir (The Martian) and adapted by master genre storyteller Drew Godard (also The Martian, as well as The Cabin in the Woods, Cloverfield, and World War Z), Project Hail Mary is that rare science-fiction film that feels grounded because the lead character is the last person you’d expect to be a hero, especially in his own eyes. Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a failed scientist and current middle-school teacher who wakes up from a coma, alone on a spaceship light years from earth with no idea what he’s doing there. But because he’s smart and his memory is slowly returning to him, he pieces together that he’s the sole survivor on a three-person mission to stop a mysterious substance from killing earth’s sun.
Scientists discover that every other sun in the universe seems impacted by this same substance, save one, and with cooperation from the earth’s scientific community, a mission is put together to the one sun that doesn’t seem impacted by this virus-like anomaly, in the Tau Ceti system. Painstakingly slow, Grace begins to understand that he was the science adviser on the ship, and so he must teach himself to steer it and learn its other functions pertaining to its capacities and anything else that will be required to complete the mission. As he gets closer to the system, he encounters another ship, with another life form aboard—an alien he names Rocky (who looks a bit like a spider made of rocks and is voiced and puppeteered by James Ortiz), who has been sent from his own world on the same mission as Grace.
Initially, the two communicate via small models and puppets that Rocky seems to excel at making quickly, but eventually Grace figures out a way to recognize voice patterns in his new friend and creates a makeshift, real-time translator (one of many tiny leaps of faith the film asks of its audience). Before long, the two are fully working together, mostly on Grace’s ship, to figure out this seemingly impossible scientific problem that both of their worlds are counting on them to solve.
Interestingly, the real drama of Project Hail Mary isn’t just the end-of-the-world scenario. A great deal of the film is told in flashback, as Grace attempts to recall how he ended up on the ship and why he doesn’t remember so many of the steps between being approached on earth to help with the project by team leader Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall) and actually ending up on the ship. He fully remembers that a team was selected for the mission (including astronauts played by Ken Leung and Milana Vayntrub), but he was never meant to take part in the actual mission
Grace was chosen to be part of the team partly for the same reason he was effectively laughed out of the scientific community—because he frequently went way outside the box to search for solutions—but his unorthodox ideas are what make him the most valuable member of the research team. When he finally remembers his path onto the ship, it’s fairly devastating for him and the audience, giving the film a great deal more emotional weight and adding an additional layer to the Grace character.
Not to make Project Hail Mary sound serious and heavy; if anything, it’s more often the exact opposite. Gosling is incredibly funny and charming (as he often is), but he also sells being curious and embodies ingenuity, intelligence, and the sheer will power to figure things out. Filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (the Jump Street movies, The Lego Movie; producers of the Spider-Verse movies) excel at making the very technical make sense. By having Grace talk Rocky through every step of whatever he’s doing or contemplating, we’re given insight into his thought process and ideas. We feel like we’re experiencing this high-pressure journey with them, and it’s exhilarating, nerve-wracking, and wholly entertaining. It’s only mid-March, but thanks to the wonderful combination of top-notch performances and awe-inspiring visual effects, we’ve stumbled upon the first great studio film of 2026.
The film is now in theaters everywhere, including the Music Box Theatre, where it is playing in 70mm.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider supporting Third Coast Review’s arts and culture coverage by making a donation. Choose the amount that works best for you, and know how much we appreciate your support!
