Movie Review: Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary opens with Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) waking up alone on a spaceship following an induced coma. He has no memory of how he got on the ship or why he is in space. As he searches the ship, he finds that everyone else on the ship has died. As his memory returns, he uncovers that he is on a mission to find a way to stop a mysterious substance from killing the sun.
Adapted from Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have made a modern space epic the likes of which we haven’t seen since Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Working from a spectacular script from Drew Goddard, Project Hail Mary bounces back and forth between Grace’s journey in space and the events that led up to when Grace woke up, which start with him as a seemingly normal middle school science teacher, to becoming the only man who can save the planet. The result is a wildly entertaining, thrilling, and emotional journey about one man’s attempt to save the world.
Lord and Miller, the directing duo known mostly for their animated work with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and The LEGO Movie, and making 21 and 22 Jump Street comedy sensations, elevate their talents as directors here, making a movie that is as intimate as it is epic. It’s equally a character study about a man learning his self-worth and realizing that, despite being a middle school science teacher, his abilities could save the world, and a space epic told on the biggest scale imaginable. Some shots reminded me of other space classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and the aforementioned Interstellar, and moments that blew me away because of their epic scale, rich detail, and stunning colors. While known for animation and comedy, Lord and Miller were perfect filmmakers to take on Weir’s book because of their ability to craft big visions while keeping the film entertaining and engrossing.
Much like how Earth is relying on one man to save the planet, Project Hail Mary’s success relies on the performance of Ryan Gosling. This is the best performance of Gosling’s career because it feels like an encapsulation of everything he has done as an actor up to this point in his career. Gosling has been acting for over 25 years and has been an actor whose career I feel like I’ve been watching closely since seeing him in 2000’s Remember the Titans. Throughout his acting career, Gosling has dabbled in various genres and budgets and has seen much success, having been in several critically acclaimed films and blockbusters, and even earning a few Oscar nominations along the way.
Gosling now joins other actors like Tom Hanks, Will Smith, and Robert Redford, who have had the task of being (mostly) the only character in a film. During the flashbacks on Earth, Gosling interacts with other people, but when he is in space, it’s Gosling by himself. That is, until he meets an alien that looks like several rocks glued together, but even then, it’s a CGI alien. This kind of performance requires an actor who can own the screen. An actor who we are interested in watching what they are doing even when they aren’t saying a lot. An actor who can hook our emotions and not let them go throughout the entire runtime. Gosling takes this opportunity and crushes it, giving an exemplary performance that highlights everything that has made him one of the great actors and underrated movie stars of the last 20 years.
Watching Gosling in Project Hail Mary is watching a great actor bring all his talents to the table and not let one go to waste. Gosling is magnetic, charming, and funny. He holds the emotional weight of the movie and makes us feel not only for Grace’s life in space, but also the life of the rock alien and the people of Earth. He shows off his physicality and his underrated talents as a great physical comedian. You believe he is a scientist because of the confidence in Gosling’s line readings. You believe in Grace’s humble view of himself, his reluctant view of the mission, and we cheer for him as he gets closer to a solution.
Lord and Miller’s grand vision, plus Gosling’s masterful performance, make Project Hail Mary the best movie I have seen in 2026 so far.
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