24/03/2026
Project Hail Mary - Directed by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street)
My rating: 9 fist my bumps out of 10
Based on the novel by Andy Weir (The Martian) and screenplay by Drew Goddard (who also adapted The Martian and is a pretty good director), we follow Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a science teacher who awakens on an interstellar spacecraft with no memory of how he came to be there and makes an unlikely friendship with an unlikely creature in space. As much as I love The Lego Movie, this might be Lord and Miller's best film yet. They created something that will be considered a masterpiece and something that can be talked about for decades. The film feels very Spielbergian, capturing that same vibes you would find in films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, while also clearly drawing inspiration from modern sci-fi films like Interstellar and Arrival.
First of all, the film really has gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Greig Fraser. Every shot looks lively, from the scenes in space to those on earth. The combination of CGI and practical effects, especially for the character Rocky, who operated via puppetry, really makes this film very cool to look at. The production design really makes the film look like it is a big-budget blockbuster, not like the others. Plus, another award-worthy score by Daniel Pemberton.
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace really is perfect casting. He really embodies this likeable nerd and unlikely hero that deals with a lot of sad things. This might be one of his best roles I've seen. Like a culmination of styles as an actor, he really showed a lot of range here, from being comedic to more dramatic when needed. I wish we could get a Best Actor nomination here. He really carried the film most of the runtime. He just exudes charisma with the right balance of being silly and earnest. Also, Sandra Hüller, as Eva Stratt, is always amazing in everything she does. There is a karaoke scene here that almost got me emotional because of how much conveyed about her character just by
After the first viewing I do agree with others that it suffered from "multiple endings" in just how they edited the third act, where you feel that the movie is ending but then goes for another 30 minutes, but it still ended in a very satisfying way. The editing is still pretty good because I didn't really feel the length of the runtime because of how I enjoyed it.
This is such a humanist film. The type of hopecore that we need once in a while. It just proved that Lord and Miller can create films that both the mainstream audience and the cinephile space will appreciate. This film is impossible to hate. You need to see it on the biggest screen possible and watch it with the people you love or watch it with a crowd. We need to support original stories like this and not just franchises.
Also, if a movie like F1 gets a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, this film better have one as well.
