Directed By Phil Lord & Christopher Miller; Screenplay By Drew Goddard; Starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, and Lionel Boyce.
Based on Andy Weir’s 2021 novel of the same name. Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle school science teacher who wakes up all alone on an interstellar spacecraft light-years from Earth. With no memory of how he got there, it starts to come back to him as he recalls the mission he’s been assigned to stop a mysterious substance from killing the sun and saving the planet.
The author of the original novel, Andy Weir, also penned The Martian. The latter served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s 2015 Academy Award nominated film of the same name. I’ve never read either one of them. Although having seen both films, I can sense their similarities. Mainly how they essentially Cast Away in outer space. This ordinary man is stranded all alone and far away from civilization and must do his best to survive.
Under Phil Lord & Christopher Miller’s direction, they’ve managed to accomplish a lot. The overall scope alone is so visually dazzling. Not only the visual effects, but also Greig Fraser’s cinematography as well as Charles Wood’s production design. Although Drew Goddard’s screenplay manages to pull off several expositional lines of dialogue in such a clever way. Not to mention that he also balances out the main storyline with some very effective use of flashbacks quite well. The editing by Joel Negron successfully makes things easy for the audience to follow.
On the surface, Ryan Gosling appears to be giving a charismatic star turn as Ryland Grace. Yet underneath, you really root for this everyday man on his journey. However, the heart of the movie is his unlikely friendship with an alien whom he names Rocky. The latter character is brought to life thanks to some astonishing puppet work as well as the great voice performance by James Ortiz. Together, their deeply felt onscreen chemistry truly feels reminiscent of the relationship between Elliot and the title character in E.T.
On paper, Project Hail Mary may be a serious story of a man trying to save humanity. However, there are plenty of moments of levity throughout that never once felt awkward. The end results also have the feel of classic Spielberg films such as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the aforementioned E.T., and Jurassic Park. Big spectacles with a tremendous amount of heart. For a two and a half hour movie, it mostly moves pretty well. Experiencing this on the big screen was such a treat. Not just because of the visuals, but also the sound work, especially Daniel Pemberton’s soaring musical score.
Rating: 4/5
Based on Andy Weir’s 2021 novel of the same name. Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle school science teacher who wakes up all alone on an interstellar spacecraft light-years from Earth. With no memory of how he got there, it starts to come back to him as he recalls the mission he’s been assigned to stop a mysterious substance from killing the sun and saving the planet.
The author of the original novel, Andy Weir, also penned The Martian. The latter served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s 2015 Academy Award nominated film of the same name. I’ve never read either one of them. Although having seen both films, I can sense their similarities. Mainly how they essentially Cast Away in outer space. This ordinary man is stranded all alone and far away from civilization and must do his best to survive.
Under Phil Lord & Christopher Miller’s direction, they’ve managed to accomplish a lot. The overall scope alone is so visually dazzling. Not only the visual effects, but also Greig Fraser’s cinematography as well as Charles Wood’s production design. Although Drew Goddard’s screenplay manages to pull off several expositional lines of dialogue in such a clever way. Not to mention that he also balances out the main storyline with some very effective use of flashbacks quite well. The editing by Joel Negron successfully makes things easy for the audience to follow.
On the surface, Ryan Gosling appears to be giving a charismatic star turn as Ryland Grace. Yet underneath, you really root for this everyday man on his journey. However, the heart of the movie is his unlikely friendship with an alien whom he names Rocky. The latter character is brought to life thanks to some astonishing puppet work as well as the great voice performance by James Ortiz. Together, their deeply felt onscreen chemistry truly feels reminiscent of the relationship between Elliot and the title character in E.T.
On paper, Project Hail Mary may be a serious story of a man trying to save humanity. However, there are plenty of moments of levity throughout that never once felt awkward. The end results also have the feel of classic Spielberg films such as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the aforementioned E.T., and Jurassic Park. Big spectacles with a tremendous amount of heart. For a two and a half hour movie, it mostly moves pretty well. Experiencing this on the big screen was such a treat. Not just because of the visuals, but also the sound work, especially Daniel Pemberton’s soaring musical score.
Rating: 4/5