Mar 10, 2026
3 min read
Ryan Gosling stars as a man trapped on a spaceship in his new film Project Hail Mary, out March 20.
Movie Review: Gosling, Lorde and Miller Make Science Fun in 'The Hail Mary Project'
Movie Review: Gosling, Lord and Miller Mock Science in 'Project Hail Mary'
It's been a minute since we've had a big screen epic that's as entertaining as it is terrifying.The last memory will be "The Martian," so perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising that the rain ends with another Andy Weir story adapted by Drew Goddard.
"The Hail Mary project from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller is the spectacular cinematic adventure we've been missing: a smart, sincere crowd full of life, energy and a love of science, quirky T-shirts and Interstellar."Disney really should make a movie like this, but in this case we have Amazon MGM to thank.And it will probably only get better with age and re-watches.
Ryan Gosling is given the ultimate movie star test as the only person on screen for a large part of the picture.It begins with his character, Ryland Grace, waking up from a long sleep in a spaceship.His long hair and bushy beard suggest he's been asleep for a long time (his shiny things may tell a different story, but maybe I should keep repeating to myself that it's just a show and really just relax).Worse, he's alone and has no idea how he got there or who he is.
The film isn't meant to bog you down with wheel-spinning: flashbacks soon ensue, and an alien friend is added to the mix as he begins to piece together a picture of who's been on Earth ("Am I smart?" he asks aloud) as he tries to complete his mission to save the sun.
Except for the small matter of Grace being convinced that she's not a hero.On Earth, he was a high school science teacher.When his students ask about the strange spots outside the Earth's atmosphere that seem to be causing the sun to die, he assures them that the world's greatest minds have figured it out.Against all movie logic, when it comes to the extraordinary nobody, he's not thrilled to discover that he might be their only hope.
Some government types have come across an old paper he wrote while getting his Ph.D., an idea that made him the laughing stock of the scientific community.He tries to tell them at every turn that they got the wrong person for the job."I cycle to work ... not for exercise," he tells Sandra Hüller's project manager Eva Stratt.
"Project Hail Mary" makes you wonder if a guy who looks like Ryan Gosling can disappear into the background of his life like Grace.But what exactly is this thought exercise?It doesn't take much suspension of disbelief to invest in the journey of someone who needs to learn self-reliance.And it doesn't hurt that it comes with a potentially handsome stranger we'll get to know as Rocky.He by James Ortiz He sounded like a gold digger who crossed paths with an architect.They soon become best friends, which can only mean one thing: you're probably going to cry at some point.
Although Grace and Rocky are the main shows, Huller is a particularly dry and pragmatic leader of action.Gosling already spoiled his big, irresistible karaoke moment in his "Saturday Night Live" monologue, but I doubt it'll be the highlight yet.
It's been a while since Lord and Miller directed a live action film, whether you count the 'Solo' Star Wars debacle or not, it's great to bring it back and team up with a cinematographer with a deep sense of scale and visuals like Greig Fraser.
As in Lord and Miller's animated films, their tone and pace remain unique."Project Hail Mary" may run over a two-hour running time, and yet there's rarely a dull moment with all the problem-solving, earnest irreverence and unabashed commitment to infusing life and wit into every molecule of the story.Daniel Pemberton's unusual, beautiful score and Joel Negron's sharp editing are key.
So many filmmakers feel that they need to force their watch among the chefs and the dark to enter the world.It's kind of refreshing that Project Hail Mary doesn't have a dead woman or child weighing down our hero — just a fellow traveler and all the life on Earth.
“Project Hail Mary,” an MGM Amazon release in theaters March 20, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for “some thematic elements and suggestive references.”Duration: 156 minutes.Three and a half stars out of four.
