Project Hail Mary (2026) – Review

Quick Thoughts:

1. It features one of the greatest alien hugs of all time
2. Good things happen when Ryan Gosling goes to space or plays a teacher. Project Hail Mary, Half Nelson, First Man, La La Land (City of Stars lol), and Barbie (traveling from Barbieland to the real world) have been good for his career.
3. Between Project Hail Mary, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller like directing or producing movies about world (or city) ending situations.
4. I love rock aliens.
5. You can see the $200 million budget on the screen. It’s a big spectacle that looks wonderful.
6. Christopher Lord, Phil Miller and writer Drew Goodard clearly love Andy Weir’s 2021 book, and it shows. 

Adapted from Andy Weir’s wonderful 2021 novel Project Hail Mary (the audiobook is incredible too. Ray Porter is a vocal legend), the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller-directed science fiction is a sight to behold. The film lacks the amiable nature of the novel, and instead adopts a “sad-happy” vibe that blends humor, first encounters, science, and suicide missions into a 156-minute spectacle. Ryan Gosling carries the film with ease, and he comes across as a genuinely kind human who is good at what he does. At its core, Project Hail Mary is a film about capable people (and other things) being capable as they attempt to save the world from organisms that are “eating” the sun. Amazon MGM Studios wisely pumped $200 million into the production, and it will pay off as early reviews (critics and audiences) are super positive and people will undoubtedly flock to the theaters to see it on an IMAX screen (they will also buy the audiobook on Audible – which is Amazon-owned). 

Project Hail Mary centers around a junior high school teacher (and disgraced molecular biologist) named Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) being recruited to save the world. Small single-celled organisms dubbed “Astrophage” are eating the sun, which is slowly cooling the Earth. In 30 years, the majority of the populace will be dead, so the world unites under the leadership of Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller – excellent casting) to figure out a way to destroy the deadly organisms and save the sun. The film is told in a nonlinear fashion that switches back and forth between Ryland’s outer space shenanigans and earthbound preparation for the world-saving mission. Since it’s a film about saving the world, the plot is loaded with problems on top of problems that need science-based solutions, and the science is always interesting and clearly explained. Screenwriter Drew Goddard (who also adapted Weir’s book The Martian into a blockbuster hit) had a tough task of taking Weir’s science-heavy novel (which is always engaging), and turning it into a smartly accessible crowd-pleaser. At 156 minutes, the film does feel a bit stretched, but it’s clear that Goddard loves the book and wanted to keep its plot intact. 

The trailers have already spoiled the appearance of an alien nicknamed “Rocky” (voiced by James Ortiz), but I don’t want to spoil the character because he’s such a delight. The friendship between Dr. Grace and Rocky is the heart of the film, and by the end you wouldn’t mind if the friendly rock creature watched you sleep. The visual effects direction by Paul Lambert and Mag Sarnowska is excellent, and the VFX vendors Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic, and Sony Pictures Imageworks do a fine job creating beautiful planets, expressive rock aliens, and gorgeous (and deadly) space lines. The production design by Charles Wood (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War) is top-notch, and he did a fine job creating a spaceship with a geography that makes sense. The ship differs a lot from the one in the book, but it makes sense that they wanted to create a larger ensemble for Ryan Gosling to exist inside. The cinematography by Greig Fraser (The Batman, Dune) is expectably great and several moments are beautiful to behold. 

As expected, Ryan Gosling does a fine job holding the screen, and he’s believable as an ultra-smart loner who finds himself saving the world. The good news is that Half Nelson, Barbie, La La Land, and First Man have proven that Gosling is a great movie teacher and space (or stars) adventurer, so he had no problem channeling his charisma and star power into the character. As always, he wears a comfy sweater, unleashes his patented screams and gets beaten up really badly (think Drive, Only God Forgives, The Fall Guy, The Gray Man, and The Nice Guys). It would be nice if his performance was remembered during the awards season, but the March release won’t help his chances.

Final Thoughts – Watch the film on an IMAX screen and listen to the audiobook.