Project Hail Mary Review - Extraordinary, expansive and introspective Science Fiction.
- Chase Gifford
- 8 hours ago
- 6 min read
“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it.” — Thucydides
Over the years the term blockbuster has become more and more synonymous with shallow entertainment. Mindless spectacle meant to visually capture your attention while providing little else. It’s something to watch while eating your popcorn and chugging a soda pop. It’s an afternoon killer. Empty calories.
Sometimes though a story comes along that acknowledges the importance and desire for visual splendor but understands the significance of exploring the depths of humanity, the complexities of human emotion, and what ultimately drives us to persevere in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Like a horror movie where the characters are more than serial killer fodder – in a movie where the fate of mankind is at stake, such a concept can feel abstract so there is a kind of disconnect. You have to make the characters matter for the unfathomable to genuinely mean something as well.
Basically any Roland Emmerich movie goes full bore into the destruction as a spectacle with the characters who are sillier than the premise of an ice age occurring in a matter of weeks, or discovering the moon is secretly a base for a hostile, alien species created, artificial intelligence. And the only ones that can save the day are often the president for some reason, limo drivers, conspiracy podcasters, and cable repairmen. It’s ridiculous on purpose but taking this approach doesn’t allow for any of it to be taken seriously beyond its surface level entertainment.
A proper disaster epic is Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. This story of ecological disaster makes you feel the suffering of a threatened humanity and a dying earth. You can smell the desperation and you pity them all while realizing this isn’t as far fetched as you would hope. Intermingled among the horrors of a dying planet is a visually stunning space adventure driven by phenomenal performances and satisfying outcomes for both the characters and their stories. It is the “thinking man’s blockbuster.” A Nolan specialty.
Oftentimes these movies are science fiction because for all of the eye candy there needs to be human involvement and unless you’re Michael Bay sending oil drillers into space to blow up an asteroid, your fictional eco nightmare has to be solved by people with glasses and PHDs in science driven fields. But something writer Drew Goddard ripped from the pages of the Andy Weir novels these movies are adapted from, he fully embraces the ability of these kinds of stories to have the expected dramatic heft without losing humor finding the laughter in what these characters do, say, and what is done to them. With The Martian they made a dramatically funny space adventure that brings joy without sacrificing the severity of space travel, the loneliness of leaving earth behind, and why sending many to save one somehow makes sense.
The driving force of Project Hail Mary is drastically different from The Martian by taking lives of the few hanging in the balance and adding on a few billion souls – just in case the consequences of mission failure weren’t dire enough. The implications stretch beyond the reputation of NASA and expand to the outcome of mankind itself. Mission failure this time is the beginning of the end for all of us. This is bigger than rescuing Matt Damon.
Much like The Martian, PHM is quite funny, much of it stemming from a transcendent performance by Ryan Gosling. I’ve been a fan of his comedic prowess since 2016’s The Nice Guys in which he delivers one of my favorite comedic turns of all-time. I believe his brilliance comes in two forms, one from the cracks of bigger moments and his natural ability to balance comedy and drama. His blink-and-you-miss-it trembling in an elevator as Holland March in a Shane Black classic buddy cop comedy. His unmistakable high-pitch scream that he emits multiple times in The Nice Guys as well as his latest as Ryland Grace in the Andy Weir adaptation brilliantly directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller best known for 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie.
You can feel his genuine personality shining throughout this amazing adventure which only makes something so impossible feel grounded despite much of the story featuring a single human being hurdling through the cosmos. Gosling grounds this story with his authenticity both in the funnier moments but also the more tender, quieter scenes where a single tear or a longing look of loneliness can speak volumes. You can feel his fear, you pity his unwinnable situation, you believe in his abilities as a scientist, a teacher, and as a human just trying their best.
As lonely as his journey is, the flashbacks to his time on Earth act as a reminder of why he must continue to push forward, to fight against impossible odds, and to believe in himself. Pushing him is Sandra Hüller as his scientific leader, Eva Stratt who is impossibly dry but somehow never loses her humanity as well as her rarely seen playfulness. She is droll but has all-too brief moments of cutting loose that are humorous certainly but provide an understated kind of yearning as if to say this is all worth fighting and dying for. She is oddly engaging and as a genius you never doubt her. She is Gosling’s much needed tether holding him in place as his mind is seemingly in a never ending loop of self-doubt and hopelessness.
Wilson, the bloody handprinted volleyball in Cast Away making us mourn his disappearance at sea. Daniel Radcliffe’s corpse pulling at our heartstrings as he farts and bloats along in Swiss Army Man. An unassuming, waste collecting robot that somehow endears itself to us all in a wordless first act as WALL-E attempts to do the most human thing ever by trying to find purpose. It’s easy for us to understand John Wick’s desire for vengeance when his puppy is killed by thugs. You get it when a character mourns the loss of a beloved family member. Giving credence to the emotional weight of things like loss of a pet or winning the lottery after a life of destitution is, relatively speaking, easy.
Finding emotional resonance with an otherworldly, faceless rock alien is a beautiful concoction of brilliance in writing with weighty, heartfelt performances all intended to create hope, humor, and triumph meant to inspire us all. Rocky is light in the darkness for Gosling’s character. On a journey of no-return and a depleted crew, friendship is at a premium. Whether it’s a volleyball, Harry Potter’s corpse, or a faceless, emotive rock with legs, companionship is at the heart of what makes us human, even at vast distances with hopeless imminence just on the horizon. Rocky is a key reminder that despite the seemingly inevitability of a one-way journey, hope and bravery must hold strong for the greater good as much as good for oneself.
The relationship between these two characters, Rocky and Ryland, is endlessly charming but riddled with unknowable doom in the form of whatever creation will eventually, undoubtedly, throw at them. Like a tattered Tom Hanks crying out for Wilson, that gut punch feels inescapable like the small natured relationship between two alien species surrounded by the enormity of the universe as it always threatens to crush them. It’s like getting a dog knowing the outcome will be utter heartbreak but knowing the path leading there was well worth the cost. You can feel the impending catastrophe barreling down on these two lonely souls but still, like them, you embrace the good as well as the bad enjoying the journey knowing that existence will somehow separate them just as quickly as it brought them together.
Project Hail Mary is what the standard of the modern blockbuster should be. Like DUNE and Blade Runner 2049, story oriented, visually driven adventure and science fiction should be what others strive to emulate. Character driven spectacle like Project Hail Mary is the rare, extraordinary reminder of what cinema is capable of achieving.
Reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey melded with The Martian, Interstellar and Ad Astra, this particular adventure is visual spectacle at its best without ever negating the humanity at the heart of it all. It will leave you in awe of its endless splendor and insatiable desire for exploration of the unknown. It will speak to the immensity of the cosmos and our small but not insignificant place among the stars. Believe the hype. Believe in the Hail Mary.
Rated PG-13 For: some thematic material and suggestive references
Runtime: 156 minutes
After Credits Scene: No
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Drama
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Milana Vayntrub
Directed By: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Out of 10
Story: 10/ Acting: 10/ Directing: 10/ Visuals: 10
OVERALL: 10/10
Buy to Own: Yes.
Check out the trailer below: I've included the trailer for consistency but watch at your own risk. The trailers for this movie have revealed plot points that I believe reveal entirely too much of the story.
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