The latest sci-fi movie, Project Hail Mary, is set to land in theaters on March 20. Since its 2021 release, readers have anticipated the film adaptation and whether it will live up to the book’s expectations. The question remains: is it worth the watch?
Like Andy Weir’s novel, the movie opens with Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) waking on a spaceship, remembering little of how or why he’s there. We watch as he slowly remembers who he is and how he became the sole survivor on this mission.
A bleak situation turns humorous as Grace experiments with the ship, figuring out what each piece of machinery actually does.
Through coma-induced flashbacks, we learn he’s a junior high science teacher tasked with saving humanity from a sun-dimming microbe which could end life on Earth as we know it.
Synopsis
So how does a junior high science teacher end up as the only hope of saving Earth’s entire existence? Like the book, we are thrown back and forth in time using Grace’s amnesia as a plot device to learn more about our main character and how dire the situation truly is.
This is where Eva Stratt comes in (played by Sandra Hüller). She’s a government official with a lot of power and great determination to find a solution to the sun-dimming microbe problem, also called Astrophage.
There is no lack of resources when it comes to what she needs as she finds Grace’s old academic papers and chooses him to whisk off to the Project Hail Mary hub. Stratt sees potential in what Grace knows and what he can do, even before he’s aware of it.
It’s a scientist’s field day as Grace explores a lab of machinery, studying Astrophage to figure out how to stop them. Through trials, tribulations, and plenty of humor, we can see why Grace is a top candidate for this crucial mission. He’s not perfect and his techniques might not be traditional, but he knows how to get the job done.
The plan: Project Hail Mary sends a crew to Tau Ceti, a distant star unaffected by Astrophage, to save humanity.
With Stratt set on sending the best minds up there to do the dirty work, you guessed it, Grace is it. With no prior astronaut experience, the former molecular biologist will join two other scientists in a thirteen year journey to the star. And let’s just say the word “no” doesn’t exist in Stratt’s vocabulary.
A new friend
Being the sole survivor on a years long mission can only be entertaining for so long. Cue the Blip-A, another spaceship that’s not like anything we’ve seen before.
As this large, strange spaceship comes looming into view, Grace wants no part of it. Thus begins a game of tag.
The whole theater erupted in laughs as Grace’s much smaller ship kept trying to get away from the Blip-A that was persistent on trailing him. Little do they know, this is the first interaction between two intelligent lifeforms.
A bridge then connects the two ships and, after much hesitation, Grace goes out to see what’s behind it. He’s met with a faceless, rock-looking spider that at first seems threatening but Grace quickly realizes it’s most certainly not.
The two imitate each other in a playful routine of dancing and posing and obviously signifying they don’t mean one another harm.
Grace’s scientific instincts kick in when he realizes the alien only speaks in musical notes so he gets his laptop and sets up a communication system that will translate for one another.
He learns the alien is an engineer originating from the planet Erid and is there for the same reason Grace is — Astrophage is threatening his home.
So with a new friend to help him out on his mission, he names the alien Rocky.
What the movie did well
I have to commend the movie for being as funny as it was. Throughout the stressful situations there’s still witty banter back and forth between Rocky and Grace.
Project Hail Mary does an excellent job of delivering the mechanics of your average sci-fi movie while adding charming and heartwarming tidbits here and there.
Your heart goes out for Rocky and the dynamic duo he makes with Gosling’s character. Their chemistry as they work together to fight the Astrophage gets better as the movie goes along.
You find yourself rooting for them and trying to understand the scientific jargon they exchange with one another.
Visually speaking, the film was beautifully done.
We get glimpses of a new planet, Adrian, with its swirling and vibrant green clouds mixed in with the reddish Astrophage ones.
The red, glitter-like Astrophage will have you saying “wow” as it surrounds the screen, dazzling against pitch-black space.
Another aspect I loved about the film was how the music played into it.
In one particular scene, Stratt takes a break from her usual rock-hard persona to sing Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” at karaoke.
It starts out fun then quickly takes an emotional turn as the lyrics, “they told me that the end is near / we gotta get away from here” starts to sink in.
The scene gives Stratt a more emotional appeal and starts to hint at her burden as the leader of this world-ending operation. It’s a vulnerable moment between her and the crew members of Project Hail Mary that is very much needed.
What the movie could’ve done better
Honestly, I have little to say about what was lacking from this movie.
One of the minor problems people may find with this film is the length. Coming in at 156 minutes (2h 36m), it may feel as if it’s on the longer side.
The pacing also may not seem consistent throughout as the film reaches its climax. Given that we jump from Grace’s flashbacks to present-day quite often, it may feel like a lot of buildup for a quick resolution.
How close it was to the book
Usually when a book is announced to be coming out with a film adaptation, people might sweat a little bit.
What if the casting is off? What if they ruin the story or leave major parts out?
Luckily in this case, fans of Weir’s 2021 novel don’t need to worry. I happily discovered that the filmmakers included most of the book’s contents in the movie.
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller kept most of the book’s integral plot points the same.
Gosling does a wonderful job at bringing the character of Grace to life. He is the perfect person to deliver those witty and sarcastic lines. His sense of humor aligns well with that of the former molecular biologist. He uses that wit and humor to deal with the intense, life-threatening moments.
Which is better: the book or the movie?
Usually people admit to liking the book more than the film that accompanies it, but in this case, I’d have to say it’s tied.
Of course the book includes even more details. You get those more in-depth, scientific explanations to what’s going on and a closer look into Grace’s inner monologue.
However, the movie does an excellent job at remaining faithful to the novel while focusing more on the action and quicker character development as opposed to engineer-heavy descriptions.
While the book keeps Rocky’s identity a secret for a bit longer, the movie is more upfront about the alien and sets the tone for the film quicker. It focuses much more on the relationship between Grace and Rocky and how they navigate the mission together.
Instead of an alien lifeform discovery being a mid-story turning point in Weir’s novel, you know what you’re getting into pretty quick with Lord and Miller’s adaptation.
Overall thoughts
Project Hail Mary is a fun, heartwarming, and visually stunning film that I believe most will enjoy.
Whether you are a sci-fi fan or not, this movie has something for everyone. It will make you laugh and possibly even cry within moments of one another.
It’s an adventurous story about friendship and sacrifice with immersive visuals and thrilling space exploration. The balance between high-stakes sci-fi problem-solving and deeply emotional human elements is very well done.
I would highly recommend escaping life for a little and going on an adventure with unlikely friends in this entertaining and touching movie.
