Poster of Project Hail Mary film
Project Hail Mary, a book written by Andy Weir and published in 2021, is the next film adapted from Weir’s writing following “The Martian” in 2011.
In his latest story, we see the world through Ryland Grace, a scientist and teacher at Grover Cleveland Middle School who wakes up from a coma 11.9 light years away from earth. While he is no astronaut, Grace is tasked with saving humanity as its future is threatened with extinction if they cannot prevent the sun from dying. We go on to learn that every star in the galaxy is infected and dying, all except for one. Grace is sent off on a one-way trip onboard a ship called the Hail Mary in order to figure out why, but soon discovers he is not alone in the galaxy.
Amazon MGM Studios picked up the rights to translate Weir’s work onto the big screen in Mar. 2022. To head the project, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller took up the task to direct it. Both are academy awarded directors with their most recent success coming from the “Spider-Verse” film series. It was also decided that the central character of Ryland Grace would be filled by the famous actor Ryan Gosling, who has been sent to space before in a role in 2018’s “First Man.” Together, all three played a key role in creating a well-adapted screen play of Weir’s work, which has now been fully released across America on March 20, 2026.
Since it is a space film, the creators took advantage of this to create many beautiful shots and vistas across the film runtime. Their use of color, lighting, shadows, and reflections add another layer of emotional storytelling to this film. Whether the shot is of reflections off a portside window, the glimmering metallic shine of the alien space craft or the bright red spacesuit Grace must adorn, the directors use color and lighting to add an additional layer of depth to the film.
Another major reason the film looks so realistic is due to the heavy use of practical effects. The film uses two–hand constructed sets to film the majority of the film. So, as you watch Gosling’s character fly around in the ship, he is on board an actual ship. The sets were also painstakingly assembled to feel both real and grounded. This can be seen through the dozens of computer screens lining the cockpit, the ladder traversing the length of the ship, or the realistic laboratory Grace must operate in. Each piece adds life and character to this fictional ship he finds himself in. The practical effects are enhanced even more thanks to the use of wiring and puppeteering. What CGI is used for the film only adds upon its beauty already constructed. The directors are not reliant on it and ultimately use it with practical effects to create something special.
For a two-and-a-half-hour film, you will be waiting on the edge of your seat to see what happens next for the entire runtime. This is not due to twists or fear, but an organic sense of wanting to know what lies next for these characters. As you watch the film, you get to see bits and pieces of Grace’s past through flashbacks. At no point is this done as a way to slow down the pace of the film, more so it helps fill in the pieces of the world we are seeing. What was Grace’s life like? What got him into this mess? All this does is to get you more invested in what you are watching and wish to learn more about the people you are watching. For the characters, you have a good pallet of characters that work with each other very well. They crack jokes, tell stories, express fears as well as question the world around them. They feel like real people, and the actors do such a good job making that happen.
The dialogue in “Project Hail Mary” is another highlight of the experience. It’s intelligent, witty, funny but also a bit corny at times, though that is not necessarily a negative. It is a Ryan Gosling film after all, so some amount of corny dialogue is going to make its way in. However, the film does a good job not treating the audience like they’re dumb. Its dialogue is well written, the film is beautifully directed, and scenes are wonderfully acted.
The film tackles a host of complex themes, both light and dark in their tone. We see death, loss, fear, and sacrifice covered within this film, but in stark contrast the film also shows us optimism, happiness, self-confidence, and friendship. However, the central theme of this film has to be bravery. The film itself poses the question of what it means to be brave, and we see the film show us the different forms of bravery through the character of Grace. But what is he brave for? You will have to see for yourself!