“The world is dying and we have to make a desperate effort to save it” is not as crazy an elevator pitch as it would’ve been a decade ago, when Andy Weir’s first novel, “The Martian,” was adapted to screen.
“Project Hail Mary,” the big-budget adaptation of Weir’s third novel, arrives in a very different movie landscape. This is the more outlandish, more accessible cousin of “The Martian,” but they both come from the same distinct voice. This speaks to how well they were both made, as it feels more like consistency than imitation.
Weir’s love of hard science, seemingly unwinnable scenarios and unshakable wisecracking protagonists are all present and accounted for. Even the circa-2015 sense of humor and millennial optimism remain intact, and thank god for that.
Instead of wallowing in a miserable vision of the future, “Project Hail Mary” doubles down on hope despite its apocalyptic stakes. There’s a glorious appreciation for human ingenuity, communication, friendship and lived experience that runs deep in this movie. It may not be perfect, but it is the best I’ve seen in theaters this year.
Set in the near future, where a mysterious microbe is found to be draining the sun’s energy, disgraced scientist Ryland Grace — played by Ryan Gosling — is recruited to the secretive Project Hail Mary to try to find a solution.
Some time later, Grace awakens on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there, and is greeted by a mysterious alien ship. Thankfully, the situation is less ray guns and more like intergalactic charades.
The movie shows first contact with extraterrestrial life as a chance for understanding, problem-solving and buddy comedy. It is gleefully sincere about the relationship between Grace and his alien friend. To say more would spoil the fun, but I can happily report that their dynamic is a highlight throughout.
Directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller deliver a spectacle that’s less about the incredible fidelity of the spaceships than about how fun it is to watch people move in zero-g, how unique Grace’s alien buddy is and how colorful the sights of the universe can be.
There’s a sense of wonder and whimsy about the sci-fi that reminded me of Steven Spielberg more than anything, and despite his work being shallowly referenced thousands of times in other movies, I’m impressed Lord and Miller actually managed to capture the soul of it here. Even the grounded, character-focused scenes set on Earth pulled me in.
It’s a testament to how well balanced “Project Hail Mary” is that an emotionally vulnerable karaoke performance hit me as hard as any of the space walks. It has the restraint to let those emotionally charged moments breathe, and it doesn’t try to deflate things with an “um, er, that was awkward.”
Within the first 10 minutes, the movie was already pulling on my heartstrings, cherishing the human experiences of even the minor side characters. It emphasizes our smallness in the universe but also insists on our individual importance.
“Project Hail Mary” is especially fun to see in the theater with a big crowd, where sincerity hits home to an audience starving for it these past few years. I felt people around me engaged, belly laughing, cheering and curling up into balls under their sweatshirts during the tense parts.
This might be Gosling’s best performance, considering how much of the film is entirely on his shoulders. He has incredibly underrated comedic timing and genuine movie star charisma. He manages to be likeably corny instead of smug, which is such a difficult note to hit.
The structure, where Gosling gradually uncovers his past through flashbacks, is both a strength and a weakness. It’s edited well enough so that the two parallel stories complement each other, underscoring emotional beats or even recontextualizing the present in interesting ways.
However, some beats are repeated multiple times across the flashbacks when they’ve already been resolved for the characters in the present. And while I appreciate a little millennial optimism, the dated sense of humor can occasionally fall flat. I’d say the jokes fall into a neat 4:1 good-to-bad ratio, but when they miss, they really miss.
“Project Hail Mary” is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts, and any strikes against it are just nitpicks.
There’s been a resurgence in shamelessly uncynical, vibrant, big-hearted blockbusters since last summer. Are they making the same profits they once did? Maybe not. But I hope they stick around.
As an earnest celebration of human ingenuity and optimism, “Project Hail Mary” is like a glass of ice water in the desert.