Project Hail Mary (2026)

Review

156min

Genre:       Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi, Thriller

Director:    Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Cast:         Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz…and more

Writers:     Drew Goddard and Andy Weir

-Synopsis-

In a near future where the Earth faces slow destruction by the inexplicable death of our sun and many other stars, global authorities bank on an extreme long shot and turn to an unlikely saviour—a reluctant and unsuspecting American 6th grade science teacher with a doctorate—finding himself alone on a space mission far from home to unravel a mystery and save life on our planet from imminent extinction, only to discover the unlikeliest of colleagues when his loneliness problem is solved.

Having had the space sci-fi directorial rug unceremoniously pulled from under them when they were dropped from 2018’s ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, comedy directorial duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller finally take off beyond the stars, inspired by generations of screen sci-fi and teaming up with screenwriter Drew Goddard and superstar Ryan Gosling to adapt the Andy Weir novel, delivering a droll and delightful fish-out-of-water first contact thriller and a hopeful world-saving intergalactic romp.

Gosling stars as ‘Ryland Grace’, a quirky science teacher with a molecular biology past long left behind, suddenly and reluctantly pulled back into academia and beyond into a real-world emergency when ‘Eva Stratt’ (Sandra Hüller) comes calling, the head of the international task force charged with unravelling a star-destroying galactic mystery. But his advisory involvement soon escalates to dangerous fieldwork when he finds himself alone in the spaceship sent to a faraway constellation to solve the mystery and prevent the crisis, only to meet unlikely interstellar companion ‘Rocky’ (James Ortiz)—an alien counterpart on a similar quest for his  own people—as they join forces to pull of an impossible mission and save the universe . . . learning the true meaning of bravery and friendship along the way.

For all its merits and qualities, it’s fair to say originality is not the main one you’d associate with ‘Project Hail Mary’. It’s clear from the start that screenwriter Goddard, directors Lord and Miller, and indeed source novel author Weir are inspired by a pantheon of sci-fi to pull from, taking cues from multiple screen classics but particularly merging artistic and thematic elements from more recent humanity-saving and solitary space fare; everything from ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Moon’ to ‘Interstellar’ and ‘The Martian’, and much in between.

Yet the line between being referential and derivative is never crossed here and as always what matters is what someone does with all their influences. On that front Lord and Miller are triumphant in successfully blending all the film’s influences and weaving them together with plenty of heart while seamlessly infusing their brand of comedy into their narrative, including a multitude of dry and quirky and occasionally even slapstick humour which might seem out of place in this type of more grounded, dramatic and semi-plausible sci-fi fare, but just seems to fit seamlessly and gives the film a charming and at times even whimsical quality. They also manage to balance all the warm inviting light tones with more moving and introspective themes, and the themes of friendship, cooperation, self-doubt and selflessness at the heart of the story.

The result is a simple and highly effective crowd-pleasing disaster-averting earth-saving epic that’s at times tense and striking but full of humanity and hope. And in a cinematic era which increasingly reflects global sociopolitical chaos and division, ‘Project Hail Mary’ has the rare and welcome distinction of being mercifully free from political baggage and ideological motivation—something that general audiences seem to be flocking towards at a time where getting butts in cinema seats is harder than ever.

With its non-linear storytelling structure constantly fluctuating between the pre-mission shenanigans and the longshot interstellar voyage of discovery itself, Lord and Miller keep their cast streamlined and rely on the considerable understated talents of one of the film’s main co-stars Sandra Hüller to establish the human stakes on Earth, as the German star effortlessly brings to life the delightfully deadpan, blunt but dedicated mission lead ‘Eva Stratt’. Meanwhile in the depths of space it’s the skills of the production design team and the voice talents of James Ortiz which combine to create an extra-terrestrial scene-stealer in the rock lobster form of  ‘Rocky’—a delightfully wide-eyed “Eridian” engineer (despite not actually having eyes) on his own solitary mission to unravel the scientific mystery of dying stars and save his own planet—providing the film’s creative first contact ‘Close Encounters’ angle.

The star of the piece is of course its matinee idol lead and one of the film’s producers Ryan Gosling, as the Hollywood superstar once again showcases his considerable comedic and dramatic chops whilst seamlessly floating between the two, shining and holding the film together as the clumsy, quirky and self-doubting but resourceful and valiant academic outsider and scientific outcast ‘Ryland Grace’, whose reluctance and ability to think outside the box may be both humanity and the universe’s last hope.

‘Project Hail Mary’ isn’t lacking in the style stakes either, certainly looking the part thanks to the aforementioned sterling production designs which not only vividly create the charm-filled alien star of the show but also the meticulous and completely convincing spaceship environments which hold the bulk of the drama, while Aussie cinematographer Greig Fraser (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Dune: Part One) captures some mesmerising and psychedelic space visuals as well as the beauty of the film’s mostly UK locations. And it’s all well balanced and energised by a soundtrack which combines an eclectic and hypnotic score from British composer Daniel Pemberton (Steve Jobs, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) blended with a carefully cultivated selection of classic rock, pop, soul and world music tracks—not to mention a memorable performance of a Harry Styles hit from one of the film’s stars.

Yet despite all its merits, near universal acclaim and high praise from many quarter—possibly as a result of a collective reset of standards since the pandemic where audiences and industry figures seem to have forgotten (perhaps by design) what mainstream cinema once was and could be again—‘Project Hail Mary’ isn’t quite the masterpiece or cinematic juggernaut its reception might suggest, dragging slightly in the third act towards a two-and-a-half hour runtime which could have been trimmed without losing much. And yet Lord and Miller have managed to triumph against the odds, creating a delightfully hopeful and cinematically reverential modern sci-fi romp which proves that blockbuster studio filmmaking can be entertaining without the need to preach or advance an agenda, and it’s a welcome tonic to soothe the soul from the painfully predictable and underwhelming Hollywood obsession with remakes, sequels, and risk-averse franchise fulfilment.

The Bottom Line…

A delightfully droll and entertaining against-all-odds, world-saving space mission drama and unconventional friendship tale anchored in a cultivated and grounded narrative simplicity but adorned with style, some substance, and plenty of heart, ‘Project Hail Mary’ may not re-invent the cinematic wheel and takes endless cues from the pantheon of sci-fi which precedes it, but Phil Lord and Christopher Miller manage to triumph and deliver the kind of optimistic escapist crowd-pleaser audiences crave—underlining the potential cinematic goldmine that is adapting Andy Weir’s work.

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