It’s a long shot, a “Hail Mary” if you will. Project Hail Mary, the film adaptation of the book by Andy Weir, is a beautiful sci-fi masterpiece, starring the one and only Ryan Gosling. Backed by real science and almost three hours long, the film has absolutely taken my heart, and, clearly, the rest of the world’s too, breaking records with an $80.6 million premiere. It’s heartwarming, it’s optimistic, it’s visually gorgeous, and its audible value is actually incredible.
The original motion picture score was composed by Daniel Pemberton, and is literally described as “wacky and outerspace-y” by Zanobard Reviews. My personal take is that it feels homely; foreign, yet safe. Magical, yet totally tangible. It feels like something existential but also like it’s in the room with me, sparking some part of my brain that entranced me fully. The music captures the feeling space gives very well, which is not surprising as Pemberton can match any vibe, given his work in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Across The Spider-Verse, The Drama, and plenty of other well known films and series’. The tracks from the original score that initially interested me were “Centrifuge,” “The Message,” “Tau Amoeba,” and “Amaze Amaze Amaze (Fist My Bump).”
The music itself tells a beautiful story with its ability to capture such emotion. Genuinely, it’s refreshing to hear a film score be this angelic sounding. I went to this movie twice, and both times, the music completely stole my focus.
Gosling performed incredibly in Project Hail Mary, although he never fails to do so in any movie. His character, Ryland Grace, has a comedic, yet an honestly, hopeless presence. Grace is a molecular-biologist-turned-middle-school-teacher who was recruited to work on this “sun spots” issue after previously writing a book about the idea that life does not need water to exist. I say he was hopeless because of two things: he did not believe in himself and that he was not confident. Defying his underconfidence, he was involuntarily sent into space on The Hail Mary to study the why’s of the “Petrova Line” and a star that was not infected by sun spots, something not yet understood, but it was known that they both had something to do with the fact that the sun was dimming.
It was also understood that the dimming of the sun would somewhat end humanity.
Grace was not an astronaut but he had one thing, an indomitable human spirit. Maybe he didn’t believe in himself, but he was going to save the human race all alone if had to.
He wasn’t alone, though. After an alien encounter, he learned to communicate and learn from this strange alien he named “Rocky,” considering his rock-ish appearance.
Rocky’s charming characteristics make him a memorable companion: his translated text-to-speech voice with not-so-correct grammar, the inability to hold a thumbs-up, and his unforgettable empathy. Rocky and Grace helped each other not be alone and ultimately found the discovery that Grace was sent out there to find and save the world.
The visual effects in this film are outstanding, in addition to the fact that there were zero greenscreens used (as Rocky is a puppet). Some slight CGI, yes, but mainly practical effects and some absolutely insane work by Oscar-winners, Greig Fraser and Paul Lambert (cinematography and visual effects). The colors are so satisfying and so real, and easily one of my favorite scenes is when Grace is inside of the Petrova Line and the Astrophage is just completely surrounding him. The red effect of the Astrophage mixed with the music makes for a spectacular experience, or a “Visual Feast” (PetaPixel 2025).
Project Hail Mary is not just another movie about saving the world. It is a movie about being thrown into something without knowing what’s to come and somehow having to save humanity. Grace has the choice to not, but in every single instance, he does, because someone out there is waiting and believing.
Does this movie remind me of 21 Jump Street? Not a bit, but directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller directed both Project Hail Mary and the 21 Jump Street universe.
With that, Miller directed The Lego Movie, Cocaine Bear, literally all of the Shrek movies, the animated Spider-Man movies, Lego Batman, and plenty more recognizable films. What I’m saying is that these guys have range, and possibly created some of the most cinematically relevant movies in this century.
Project Hail Mary indefinitely added to this film ecosystem, and despite its many differences from the book, it is wonderful. Plus, it has a new spot at Amazon’s best performing film ever, making over $300 million since its March 20 release, even with its nearly 3 hour runtime. Mentioning that, I believe it could’ve been longer! Considering its original cut of almost 4 hours, the theatrical release of a directors cut would make my year.
Grace Rocky save stars; “Grace Rocky save cinema.” (A Letterboxd reviewer). Grace Rocky save my attention span. Project Hail Mary, it is no discussion, we will be seeing you at the 2027 Oscars, one way or another.
