Project Hail Mary (2026)

Science teacher Ryland Grace (Oscar-nominated Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no memory of how he got there.  As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance from killing the Sun, which can save Earth.  Soon he encounters a mysterious being from another planet and together, they form a bond and embark on this mission.  This inspiring space adventure comes to us from co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, 21 Jump Street) and was also adapted from a best-selling novel written by Andy Weir who was also the original author of another best-selling sci-fi novel (The Martian) which was also adapted into a highly acclaimed blockbuster more than ten years ago.  Also returning from adapting The Martian is Oscar-nominated screenwriter Drew Goddard.  The supporting cast including recent Oscar-nominee Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall), Emmy-nominee Lionel Boyce (The Bear) and.....a plucky rock-like creature nicknamed "Rocky" from another planet?? :P 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

PROJECT HAIL MARY - 2026

Directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

Starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub, Liz Kingsman, Orion Lee, Aaron Neil, and James Ortiz

Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure 

This is definitely one of the more life-affirming films I have seen in recent years. True there might not have been THAT many of them on this scale, maybe Top Gun Maverick, Creed, Booksmart, Everything Everywhere All At Once (for the most part) Wonder Woman, and of course The Martian (which had the same set of writers) but now we're going back more than a decade. It's kind of slim pickings when you think about it, maybe that speaks more to my personal taste. And I'm not gonna lie either: the screenplay, score, etc is going HARD at points to pull those heartstrings....it almost approaches shameless Pixar levels! But for me, it all just WORKED - co-directors Lord & Miller (the Spider-Verse films, 21 & 22 Jump Street) just completely played me like a fiddle with plenty of laughs and even a few choked up moments along the way. 🙂 I just left the theater feeling good. 

It's a full-on space ADVENTURE in the purest sense - for the vast majority of the film's runtime, we are venturing deep into the unknown alongside one lone, likeable human...a science teacher named Rylan Grace played very winningly by Ryan Gosling. That's of course until he meets some one on a similar mission to his - to examine a far-off star which is NOT falling victim to the same threat which is killing our sun - THIS other figure being an alien who's trying to save ITS sun, that alien eventually nicknamed "Rocky" by Rylan himself. Rocky is a seemingly rock-based life form which can nonetheless move freely, interact, even showing personality....all rendered brilliantly through animatronics and puppetry. Seriously this is on the level of the original Yoda or ET, it's THAT well-done!

And speaking of Yoda....yeah I do not typically find plucky, anamorphic creatures like this appealing. 🙄 I am borderline dreading seeing the new Star Wars for that very reason - can't stand Grogu, Baby Yoda, or whatever he's called. (AND Babu Frik's returnin too?? Ugh!) Love the Gremlins movies and Gizmo is actually my least favorite part. 😆 So even though I don't find myself usually falling victim to characters LIKE Rocky, I not only found him appealing but also was genuinely moved by the bond he forms with our main protagonist Rylan. 

Besides Rocky, Gosling's lone astronaut (the explanation for him being alone on such an important mission is actually explained better than I would have expected) has the most interactions with recent Oscar-nominee Sandra Huller's (Anatomy of a Fall) playing Eva Stratt who is the scientist leading the titular "Project Hail Mary" back on Earth. Their scenes together are told via flashback and are genuinely engaging, even as she's playing some one who is overtly chilly often making some chilly decisions. I loved Sandra in 'Anatomy and she delivers here again albeit in a smaller role this time around. 

One other major factor in this film's success is simply in how AMAZING it looks. 🤗 Oscar-winning DP Greig Fraser (Dunes Part 1 & 2, The Batman, Zero Dark Thirty) shows once again how he is one of the best. And after this, the two Dunes, AND Rogue One, it's clear that NOBODY is filming space better than him, it's not even close! Deep space itself looks infinite in a manner more convincing than I have seen in anything since probably Danny Boyle's Sunshine. Beyond that, there are several sequences involving both Rylan and Rocky's respective ships encountering each other in space which are simply jaw-dropping. Not sure how much of this was CGI or matte paintings or "The Volume" but it's all feels so convincingly tangible up on the big screen. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):

As I mentioned earlier, this film’s varied score is part of what helps it work SO well….and that comes to us from UK composer Daniel Pemberton who has done a lot of memorable work – often involving synth – including for previous episodes Steve Jobs and Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse. (Audio clip) 

There are SEVERAL key moments which land well with the assistance of his score….unfortunately as of the time of recording this, I can neither find any and clips nor even a track listing of it….but when it’s released, DEFINITELY check it out.   I also MUST give a shout-out to a pop song from the ‘90’s which is used VERY prominently over the second trailer….sadly NOT within the movie but still, remains one of THE great trailer needle-drops of recent memory.  LOVED this song back in ’95, the band Oasis and their glorious EPIC ballad, “Champagne Supernova.” (Audio clip)    

Beyond that though, this film’s soundscape is still also peppered with a nice, eclectic collection of needle-drops from Kris Kristofferson, Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, Ike & Tina Turner, and…..going the modern route with an artist I have to admit that I have never had an appreciation for and I KNOW I’m dating myself here…..Worcestershire, England’s OWN favorite son….Harry Styles.  Now this song has been used prominently in the marketing campaign for this film including the FIRST trailer….but it’s also used for a VERY potent scene roughly about half-way through the film and it focuses on Sandra Huller’s Eva.  As many of the folks belonging to the titular project – astronauts and scientists – are kind of cutting loose on a battle ship one night, having their own karaoke party.  Eva is standing out on a nearby overlook alone when Rylan comes out to talk with her – it’s a nice conversation about the stakes of their mission.  He goes back inside and then….a few minutes later, Eva comes in, grabs the mike and actually performs her OWN lovely rendition of “Sign of the Times” from Harry Style’s self-titled 2017 debut album.   Who KNEW that Huller could sing and that she has SUCH a lovely voice at that?  Of course she brings down the house INCLUDING Rylan who looks and listens with awe…..SUCH a touching moment which completely caught me off guard! (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

This is kind of just a minor disappoint because to be fair, most of the supporting human cast in this film is given very little to do in this film….Sandra Huller’s Eva is at least given closure while disappointingly this character is not.  And he’s played by Marcus from The Bear himself….Lionel Boyce in what is likely his FIRST real big-screen role, he has only been a few films.  As I of course love his character on The Bear – he’s the pastry chef who finds his calling – I also just dig his performance on that show.  And he’s equally winning here as Carl, who I believe runs security for the Project.  In the first half of the film, it’s pretty fun to watch him and Rylan bond over some actual science….and then we HARDLY hear from him during the second half.  Like I said a small quibble…but considering how this film goes over two and a half hours, it would have been nice to see his character given a small send-off alongside Eva. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Bear in mind that I have only seen this once but I’m PRETTY sure that THIS particular scene occurs immediately following the aforementioned karaoke sequence….we are now back in space with Ryland and Rocky and it’s a VERY critical point in the mission.  Not to spoil too much but they have discovered the existence of single-celled alien organism which Ryland himself nicknames “Taumoeba” and it becomes obvious that one thing they MUST do is to collect an abundance of these organisms which literally float in space.  And I’ll leave it at that….not to spoil too much but this sequence which includes a space walk BY Ryland and a nifty invention by Rocky is simply majestic to watch at points. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

Wow I was TORN about this one – even though the film is a bit overlong, it’s still beautifully directed by Lord & Miller for the most part.  Also GOTTA give a shout-out to the original author of the best-selling novel which this is adapting….Andy Weir who after penning both this and The Martian CLEARLY has a great handle on crafting compelling space adventures.  But at the end of the day, the key difference-maker ends up being Gosling who is simply unassailable with his performance. Portraying a character like this with insecurities (even though he looks like Ryan Gosling) and quirks mostly by himself, often talking to himself (seemingly) is definitively NOT an easy task and he more than pulls it off. (Audio clip) 

It's very much on the level of Matt Damon in The Martian or Will Smith in I Am Legend (which I've always had a soft spot for) or of course Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Granted, Drew Goddard's screenplay provides him with no shortage of witty lines - he nails them regardless and it never detracts from his ability to go deep into the science (which admittedly I didn't entirely understand at points....but it SOUNDED legit 😉) nor to prevent him from wringing raw emotion out of this character.  And with this, his recent Oscar-nominated turn in Barbie AND a genuinely funny performance as the titular The Fall Guy, he just makes delivering yet another movie star performance look effortless….which it isn’t.  For delivering what I consider to be among his best career performances, Ryan Gosling is the MVP. (Audio clip)  

Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 

Overall, the runtime tops out at around 155 minutes and this could have likely been trimmed by around 15 to 20 minutes, but I STILL cannot recommend this highly enough....you'll laugh, you'll cry, and maybe you'll even hurl. 😁 (In a good way) 

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And that ends another FIST MY BUMP review!