Project Hail Mary

Modern science fiction films tend to fall into one of two categories. They're either long, self-important, overly dramatic, and often overbloated to the point that they are unenjoyable to watch, or they go in the complete opposite direction where nothing is taken seriously, they don't even attempt to maintain something resembling internal continuity, and they're just structurally a mess. Sometimes you'll get a good or even great version of the first type, but movies like Dune are few and far between.

Project Hail Mary manages to thread the needle between these two extremes. It has massive stakes that put the fate of the world in peril, but does so without being, well, Interstellar to put it succinctly. That's not a knock on Interstellar, it just at times can get a little heavy when a lot of the front of the movie is dedicated to explaining what has to happen, what the science is, and what happens to the world if the team is unsuccessful in their mission.

After the discovery of a mysterious life form that is slowly consuming the sun, the nations of Earth send a small team to space to save humanity. After multiple members of the team die during the trip, Ryland Grace must learn to interact with a mysterious alien whose planet is at risk of befalling the same fate to save both their worlds.

The strongest point the movie has, and the thing that sets it above and beyond a lot of other fare designed for general audiences, is the buddy dynamic between Rocky and Grace. Are the semantics about how they learn each other's languages a little questionable? Sure, but it doesn't matter. The moments of the two of them playing off each other really allow the comedic sensibilities of directors Lord & Miller to shine through and allow for levity in a movie that deals with a particularly heavy subject matter involving personal sacrifice.

Visually the movie is absolutely gorgeous. In an age where a lot of science fiction films, especially done at this scale, can look kind of disposable, it's nice to see something as stunning that will stay with the viewer beyond the hour after they leave the theater. This is something that should be seen on a large screen and in 3D if possible for the maximum effect.

If there is anything to complain about it, it would be how the movie ends. Without spoiling it, there is a clear ending point that would have been a solid place to wrap up Grace's character arc but the movie blows past that with an additional two story beats that probably could have been left behind. With the movie clocking in at over two and a half hours, there was definitely room to omit those scenes. Even so, it does not detract from the movie enough to the point I debated even including it.

Project Hail Mary is a fantastic hard-ish science fiction movie that balances deep emotional arcs with great comedic beats. It delivers a satisfying experience with outstanding visuals that deserves to be seen in the theater as soon as possible.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Project Hail Mary
Directed by: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Written by: Drew Goddard
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller, James Ortiz, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub, and Lionel Boyce
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: March 20th, 2026