Several years ago, I fell madly in love with The Martian, the first novel by author Andy Weir. That novel was made into an equally exceptional movie that I also loved. Weir's second novel Artemis was eh, okay, and it hasn't been made into a movie yet. But Weir's third novel, Project Hail Mary, is now a movie and it's as good as The Martian. And that's saying a lot.
Like The Martian, Project Hail Mary is about one man stranded in an absolutely incredible situation working an absolutely incredible problem. This time, it's a much, much, MUCH bigger problem, as in the end of life on Earth as well as the rest of the galaxy.
Yes, that sounds grandiose. Let me explain. And I promise I won't spoil you.
In Project Hail Mary, Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes from a coma with amnesia, having no idea what is happening to him. He eventually works out that he is on a spaceship eleven light years from Earth. Throughout the movie, he has flashbacks to the details of how and why he wound up there. Essentially, it is because Earth's scientists have discovered that there is a line of living black dots, later dubbed "astrophage," that are slowly devouring our sun, paving the way for a massive temperature drop on Earth that will eventually destroy every food source and kill everyone. That is bad enough, but even worse – it is happening to other stars as well. Except for one star in our stellar neighborhood: Tau Ceti.
Grace is a brilliant misfit working as a middle school science teacher who was recruited by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) to the Petrova Task Force, which is trying to save the world and understandably has pretty much infinite Earth resources to do so. Which is why Ryland Grace ended up on a spaceship orbiting Tau Ceti.
There's a surprisingly large amount of spritely music, jokes and physical humor in this movie, and it all lands so well. Ryan Gosling, whom I don't think I've ever watched in anything other than La La Land, which I didn't like, is very likeable as Grace. Which is good because like The Martian, it's pretty much a one-man show... except not so much this time. Because another planet's scientists discovered the same thing that Earth's scientists did, and they sent a ship to Tau Ceti for the same reason.
Both Grace and his opposite number, an alien engineer whom he dubs "Rocky" because he can't pronounce his name, lost all of their shipmates during the trip and are alone. They manage to find a way to communicate by computer, and even though they can't share a physical environment, they start working their massive problem together. The relationship between Grace and Rocky is the heart of this movie. I loved it in the book and I love it just as much here. Rocky is voiced and puppeteered by James Ortiz, who does a marvelous job.
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| Yes, this is Rocky. You can see where Grace got the nickname. |
One more thing that might encourage readers of Doux Reviews to try Project Hail Mary is that the writer of the screenplay is Drew Goddard, a name I definitely recognized because he has also written episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, Alias and Daredevil, as well as the screenplay for The Martian. And producers/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have collaborated on a long list of genre movies and TV shows, including The Lego Movie.
After this glowing review, you're probably not surprised that I am rating this movie four out of four lava beanbags, which will make more sense after you've seen it. I loved Project Hail Mary and will certainly be watching it again.
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
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