REVIEW: ‘Project Hail Mary’ Is The New Greatest Space Movie

Space movies cannot be accused of getting stale or repetitive now that Project Hail Mary has completely changed the genre forever. Phil Lord and Chris Miller have directed what may well be the greatest space movie of all-time. From a Drew Goddard screenplay based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, Lord and Miller have blasted a Ryan Gosling performance completely out of this world, blending a perfect comedic tone with the most dire dramatic circumstances and non-stop thrilling pace. All while bringing an alien rock-like creature (James Ortiz) to life before our eyes.

To fully experience Project Hail Mary as it deserves to be seen, this review will be very general in its plot descriptions. Grace (Gosling) is a science teacher who is called upon by his government and the world to investigate the cause of a sun-eating ‘astrophage’ that threatens to cause global catastrophe over the next several decades. Initially reluctant, the leader of Project Hail Mary, Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), convinces Grace to leave teaching behind and help save Earth and the galaxy.

Project Hail Mary is the funniest movie in recent memory, and one of the most politically pressing and dramatic.

The most remarkable thing about Project Hail Mary is that it is one of the funniest movies in recent memory, yet also one of the most pressing political statements and deeply dramatic movies of modern times. It is—almost—entirely thanks to Ryan Gosling. Gosling plays Grace as someone who masks a depth of emotion and genius with whit charm. He is incredibly awkward at times, and yet, he can charm the stoniest of walls with a few short quips.

Early on, Grace demonstrates this power alongside Steve (Lionel Boyce), a member of Stratt’s security detail. At first, Steve is a no-nonsense type of guy. He comes off a bit witty, but he’s stoic, and the expectation is set up that he is going to be a pain to Grace’s goofy demeanor.

But as the movie jumps back and forth between the present aboard the spaceship Hail Mary and the past as Grace prepares for the mission, Grace cracks Steve, and they become buddies. There is even an entire montage dedicated to it.

Project Hail Mary succeeds on its perfect balance of tones and characters.

The same is true of Grace’s relationship with Stratt. Stratt makes Steve look chipper compared to her deadly-serious modus operandi. But without Stratt’s intensity, which Hüller plays perfectly, Grace’s aloof nature could run the movie amok. Project Hail Mary could just as easily be a movie with no comedic tension, focused entirely on the drama of it all. Thankfully, Gosling does it all, proving his comedic capacity as well as the deep well of emotions he can draw on.

Of course, Grace isn’t the only heartbeat of Project Hail Mary. On his journey through space, Grace encounters another spaceship, upon which he meets Rocky (James Ortiz). Rocky, so named because they don’t share a language, and Rocky is essentially a sentient rock, has also taken to space in an attempt to find a way to stop astrophage from eating his sun.

While Grace and Rocky cannot communicate at first—in fact, it’s not even clear whether they can trust one another—the two develop an incredible bond. Despite being a puppet voiced through a computer that Grace slowly teaches to translate his language into English, Rocky is just as powerful a character as Grace.

Grace and Rocky’s friendship is the key to Project Hail Mary.

Rocky is hilarious, especially thanks to physical and situational comedy. He’s also incredibly thoughtful and caring—even more so than Grace, perhaps, who is a pretty nice person himself. The fact that Rocky regularly humbles Grace by way of both his intellect and his kindness deepens both the comedy and the sincerity of their relationship.

Grace and Rocky’s friendship is the key to Project Hail Mary. With a future not so different from ours, where the fate of humanity depends on people of different backgrounds putting aside their differences to find solutions together, Project Hail Mary is an incredible dispenser of hope.

Even when their mission feels distant, hopeless, or impossible, their bond sustains them and enthralls the audience. Every second of the movie is propulsive, whether it’s in service to their mission, their relationship, or the circumstances that brought them together.

Project Hail Mary is also a rare, incredible example of a movie with no visual flaws whatsoever. In a time in filmmaking utterly overwhelmed with cheap solutions or CGI, where practical effects could have worked even better, the movie looks completely and totally real.

Everything looks real and immaculate in Project Hail Mary.

Rocky is a real puppet, the spaceship is a real set, and the visual effects for the many scenes in the vastness of space are nothing short of stunning. Everything looks immaculate, feels real, and even sounds completely compelling. The needle drops are perfectly designed, too, to elevate the experience without going overboard.

Project Hail Mary is a completely perfect movie. From start to finish, it is undeniably captivating, poignant, and gorgeous. Grace, Rocky, and the rest of the supporting cast provide enormous heart, as well as some of the funniest banter in memory. It is a total revolution to the space epic with its perfect blend of tones, feeling at once home in the lineage of great space movies that came before it, and alone at the peak of what this genre can be.

Project Hail Mary is in theaters everywhere March 20th.