Project Hail Mary Shines as One of the Funniest and Most Uplifting Films in Years!
Image Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
By Luis Zonenberg
Few movies releasing this year garnered as much excitement as Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Project Hail Mary, which is based on the 2021 sci-fi novel written by Andy Weir. The film marks the first live-action movie Lord and Miller have directed since 22 Jump Street, teaming up with screenwriter Drew Goddard, who previously adapted another Andy Weir novel, The Martian, in 2015. With the film garnering immense acclaim from critics and audiences alike, I decided to venture out and see if the film truly lived up to its potential.
The story focuses on astronaut Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), who awakens on a spacecraft with retrograde amnesia. He slowly remembers that he is a quirky middle-school science teacher and former molecular biologist whose expertise was sought after by the American government. He was recruited by a mysterious woman called Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), who is the head of an international task force dedicated to uncovering why the Sun is slowly dying.
Grace soon remembers that a molecular life-form called Astrophage has been infecting every star and draining its energy, all except for one. He has been sent to the far reaches of space to examine a star called Tau Ceti and uncover the reason why Astrophage is not affecting it. In the process, he soon finds himself crossing paths with an extra-terrestrial life form he nicknames “Rocky” (James Ortiz) due to his appearance resembling… well, a large rock. The two soon team up to examine Tau Ceti and save their worlds in the process!
The film stays true to the non-linear story structure of the novel, elevating both the stakes and overall drama. Ryland Grace proves to be a very engaging protagonist whose intelligence and silly attitude make him easy to root for. What makes him more endearing is his growing relationship with the alien Rocky, with the two bonding over their shared curiosity about each other’s species as well as the loneliness the two faced separately. It’s this dynamic that’s the crux of the movie, and thanks to the sharp script and terrific performances, you find yourself truly connecting with them.
The film is very much an underdog story, with Grace and Rocky rising to the challenge of facing the impossible odds of saving their respective worlds. While this may be an old cliche that even the novel grappled with, the movie does great at remaining faithful to the power of friendship and scientific problem-solving that the book also championed. It also doesn’t shy away from the concept of sacrifice, with the two characters learning to risk their lives not just for their worlds but also for each other.
The cast did a phenomenal job overall, with Ryan Gosling’s effortless charm solidifying his iconic status in Hollywood. He remains a force to be reckoned with, adding plenty of levity to the dangerous situation while never skimping on the drama, finding a nice balance between the two. James Ortiz, who voices Rocky, offers a typical voice you’d hear on a computer, but he learns how to approach it in such an effective way. Ortiz and Gosling have excellent chemistry with each other, bouncing off one another in such an affectionate way that feels so believable.
The cinematography was outstanding, especially considering the talent behind the camera. Cinematographer Greig Fraser has quickly become a savant in Hollywood, balancing grand scale with sweeping spectacle as he demonstrated in Dune (2021), The Batman, and Rogue One. This film is no different, utilizing the tall IMAX aspect ratio cleverly by shooting all the scenes in outer space in the large frame. It makes those scenes all the more massive and encapsulates the audience with ease!
The music composed by the incredibly underrated Daniel Pemberton beautifully complemented the visual aesthetic and added some real weight to the film. Pemberton strikes a fine balance between enchantment and tension, fueling the emotional resonance within the film. The score truly brings the movie to life and immerses the audience in every moment, matching the emotions of each scene while creating some great atmosphere for the characters in the film.
The VFX utilized were simply breathtaking, especially considering the epic scope of this film. The absolute standout was Rocky, which utilized three distinct methods to bring the character to life. The VFX team utilized 17th-century Japanese puppetry with numerous puppeteers working to move him. They also built an animatronic to do more complex scenes that the puppeteers couldn’t orchestrate with minimal CGI used to finalize the texture and complexity of the characters’ movements. This blended in seamlessly and made Rocky all the more believable to watch.
There are few sci-fi films these days that leave much of an impression. The fact that a film like Project Hail Mary could win over so many and break so many box-office records is a testament to the craftsmanship of Lord and Miller. The duo continues their hard-earned winning streak from The LEGO Movie and is likely to have another winner soon with next year’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Lord and Miller strike gold again with Project Hail Mary, an emotionally resonant and at times funny underdog story fueled by Ryan Gosling’s immeasurable charisma.
Project Hail Mary is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★★★
