I, like everyone, am fascinated by space. It is beautiful, yet terrifying at the same time. I wish I could be there, but also…no, I don’t. This contradiction is what I feel drives most people’s interest in space, up into the modern day. It’s why we continue to go to space, why we are constantly researching it, and why we keep making movies about it.
“Project Hail Mary” is a space movie. It shares many traits with other films of the genre. Despite this, the film is nothing short of a technical wonder and extremely entertaining from top to bottom.
The film follows Dr. Grace, who awakens on a mission in space that he has no memory of. As he overturns his ship and explores his surroundings, he begins to understand the purpose of his mission: to save Earth from a virus that is killing our sun. In his quest to save the planet, he meets an alien named Rocky with the same mission as him, and the two join up in hopes of saving each other’s worlds.
The first thing I must mention when talking about this film is its visuals. Space has never looked more colorful in recent memory. There’s a scene where Grace is doing a space walk, and we see this planet that is this beautiful green. Then Rocky turns on a device, and the surroundings turn into this twinkling red that dominates the screen. It is simply magnificent to watch. All the practical effects are excellent as well, especially with Rocky. The way they are able to make this alien emote is just crazy. In this era of poor technical effects, it is a breath of fresh air to see a film that gives it the respect it deserves.
Another great aspect of this film is its performances. Sandra Hueller as Eva Stratt, the woman in charge of the eponymous Project Hail Mary, and James Ortiz as Rocky the alien. Both give amazing performances, but Ryan Gosling really steals the show as Dr. Grace. Most of the film is just him on his own, acting, and yet Gosling is able to imbue his signature charm into every single scene. He’s not only funny in this movie, but I would also argue his best scenes are the ones where we see the emotional side of the character, and I do wish we saw more of this in the film. Despite this, the performance was still great.
I also felt the story was very strong, though there were some areas in which I felt the film stumbled. Everything to do with Grace and Rocky is perfect. They have great chemistry together, and their bromance should be preserved in film history. The way the story goes, from start to finish, is very satisfying and works extremely well. However, I do think that the flashback scenes throughout the film harmed more than helped, especially in the final act. I feel that if they had decided to move those scenes up earlier in the film, they would be much more impactful. Also, the film suffers from having multiple points where it feels like it should end but doesn’t. This disease has been common among films as of late, and sadly, Project Hail Mary is no exception. The story still works though overall, and I understand why they decided to make the movie this way. I just think it could have been handled a bit better.
One aspect of the film I didn’t enjoy was the score. I feel like almost all space movies have a banging score, and this one just didn’t. There were really no memorable tracks, and it was kind of a disappointment, especially with how epic this movie looks and feels. It wasn’t awful, just forgettable, but that just feels worse, in my opinion.
You should watch “Project Hail Mary.” Are there issues with the film? Yes, there are: the score is mediocre, and the way the story is told is a bit all over the place. But the great aspects of the film, specifically the visuals and the relationship between Grace and Rocky, compel me to recommend this film. If you like space, you will enjoy this movie, if you like bromances, you will enjoy this movie, if you like movies, you will enjoy this movie. Watch it at the nearest theatre to you now! This is definitely one of the best space movies I have seen in a while, and made me really feel like I want to go to space (except no, I definitely don’t).
