By Charles Hubbard, Second Year, Theatre and Performance
In the last few years, Ryan Gosling has quickly become one of our most reliable movie stars, if not our most reliable. After struggling to follow up his banner year of 2016 (in which he starred in both La La Land and The Nice Guys) with Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and First Man (2018), both of which, while excellent, financially underperformed, Gosling has capitalised on the industry-redefining success of his Oscar-nominated turn in Barbie (2023) excellently. Seemingly hell-bent on bringing back the big budget comedy, even as films designed solely to make their audience laugh are being almost entirely punted to streaming, both The Fall Guy (2024) and Project Hail Mary (2026), Gosling’s latest romp, represent a gold standard for four-quadrant, middle-of-the-road Hollywood entertainment.
Leading a $200 million, 156 minute film where the majority of your scenes happen with a sentient rock isn’t a task I’d wish on my worst enemy, yet, considering the ease with which Gosling handles the undertaking, you’d think this was just a Monday for him. What could be an unfunny slog in the hands of lesser actors like Ryan Reynolds or Tom Holland is instead a consistently hilarious, quietly heart-rending and disarmingly prescient film about how hard it is to sacrifice yourself for the good of humanity when the chips are actually down.
The plot follows Dr. Ryland Grace (Gosling), a middle school science teacher who is plucked from the classroom by frosty government agent Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller cast hot off her powerhouse turn in Anatomy of a Fall (2023)) and sent to a distant galaxy to investigate an infrared line, known as the Petrovas line, forming between the Sun and Venus that is causing the Sun to dim. He is warned that, if he is unsuccessful in his mission, it will result in the earth experiencing a disastrous cooling in the next thirty years. So no pressure then.
While this is the exact opposite of the environmental crisis humanity is facing right now (it’s honestly closer to the dystopian conflict of Danny Boyle’s incredibly underrated Sunshine (2007)), the film is still able to conjure up not only the collectivist spirit we all should embody when combatting increasing global temperatures but also the short-sighted solipsism that can so often get in the way of progress.
The script squares the circle of its source material by creating a non-linear structure that splits the timeline of the story into two separate strains - Grace and Stratt researching the Petrovas together at base camp and an amnesiac Grace floating in space and eventually befriending an adorable rock alien named, somewhat unimaginatively, Rocky (James Ortiz).
The diverging timelines are a masterstroke of adaptation on screenwriter Drew Goddard’s part - no surprises there, considering he previously adapted Andy Weir’s The Martian into the 2015 blockbuster of the same name). Grace’s refusal of the call to action is necessarily over-extended and would feel like a complete waste of time if the audience were not intermittently seeing him years after he was eventually blasted into space. Christopher Nolan would be very proud, even if he might demand a fair cut of the royalties here, considering how liberally Weir and Goddard borrow (if not outright steal) from Interstellar (2014).
However, I’m afraid book fans might be left a little wanting. I haven’t read the book but I watched this film with someone who has and couldn’t help but notice their sighs and huffs every time the screenplay diverted from the source material or skimmed over something that was explained extensively in the book.
So if you treat Andy Weir like he’s Frank Herbert and believe that his words need to be followed like gospel, it’s probably best to steer clear of this one. While certainly not having this problem, I will admit that, for a film with this titanic of a runtime, it certainly yadda-yaddas a lot of the more complicated science, particularly the method by which Grace and Rocky learn to communicate.
However, considering Goddard does so to get to some pretty terrific comic beats (which Gosling handles with characteristic skill and a keen sense for comedic timing), I’m willing to forgive the lack of time spent at the chalkboard. We can’t all be Arrival (2016)!
If there’s a MVP here besides Gosling, it’s probably director of photography Greg Fraser - probably the most sought after cinematographer in the business after Hoyte van Hoytema and Linus Sandgren. Best known for his work on Dune (2021) and The Batman (2022), Fraser reserves his typical desaturation for the scenes on earth before cranking up the coloured to an eleven for the space scenes, creating some of the most gorgeous interstellar imagery this side of The Tree of Life (2011).
Lord & Miller made the film in a distinctly unconventional method that eschewed using CGI and green-screens in favour of shooting in as many practical environments as possible and that choice is well worth the expense, considering how tangible Grace’s spaceship feels.
Felix Glanville
If I could compare Project Hail Mary to any other film, it honestly might be last year’s Mickey 17 (2025). Both are massive (and much-delayed) space epics with perfectly pitched comedic performances at the centre that are so warm and open-hearted, the filmmakers don’t seem to be aware that their budgets are nine figures high.
That said, I’m happy we were spared the uncharacteristically toothless satire of Bong Joon-Ho’s film this time round. No matter who you are, I think you’d have a hard time not enjoying this gleefully sincere romp so, if it’s been a while since you went to the cinema, this is the perfect flick to get you back in the habit.
Featured Image: IMDb | Star Illustration: Epigram / Sophia Izwa
Do you believe Project Hail Mary is the 2020s answer to Interstellar?
