A Hail Mary is a Catholic prayer asking for the Virgin Mary’s help. In football, it’s a desperate pass in the game’s final seconds. For this film, we use the football analogy: a last-ditch, long-shot effort to save humanity.
Project Hail Mary was first a best-selling science fiction novel released in 2021 by Andy Weir. He is the writer who also gave us the book that was turned into a 2015 movie The Martian, starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott. Another story about a man on his own out in outer space that needed to be saved. This time, in this new film, that man on his own in space is trying to save all of us.
The film Project Hail Mary is centered on Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling). A brilliant scientist who, after being told that his scientific theories were insane, decided to leave the scientific community and make a good life teaching High School science. He lived a quiet life until the government came knocking because the Sun was being attacked by something from outer space, which nobody understood. Ryan’s crazy theories put him in the limelight and in the front seat of a globally funded science project to help figure out how to stop a star-eating substance called “astrophage” that is killing the Sun.
Forces beyond Grace’s control leave him alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth. As his memory returns, he learns why he’s there. He then makes contact with an alien life form. Their friendship may be key to saving both their worlds.
This film is interesting because it’s directed by two very creative men, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. They have spent the last two decades making films together. They’ve done some really outside-of-the-ordinary films, such as 2014’s The Lego Movie and 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, among others. They have made a career out of turning what looked like bad ideas into good movies. This is one of their first projects, which began with a clear, crowd-pleasing storyline. And the cherry on top was the extraterrestrial part of the narrative. Lord is quoted as saying, “It did seem like a crazy idea to make a movie with the hunkiest actor of his generation and a rock puppet. I guess we’re interested in making difficult things.”
The film boasts strong source material and a fantastic team that helps explain its magic. Cinematographer Greg Fraser, known for the Dune franchise, made a brilliant choice: Earth scenes use 2.39 widescreen; space scenes use 1.43 IMAX. He also utilized a digital-to-celluloid “film out” process that brings warmth and tangibility, rewarding viewers who see it on the big screen.
The directing team then chose Daniel Pemberton to score the film. They all worked together on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He’s quoted as saying he really tried to tap into the connection humans crave. That’s why he used a lot of choir work and percussion against the human body in the score. His work elevated the story in a unique way.
I don’t have much to say about this film that’s negative. I was thoroughly captivated, and so was everybody in the theater with me who got to screen it beforehand. As I sat there, enjoying the story unfolding, I recognized in this film that same bit of magic I felt when I first saw ET. Another classic film featuring an odd-looking alien. Project Hail Mary is a wonderful family film. And it has enough sci-fi gadgetry and science-based plot to keep just about any sci-fi geek happy.
I give Project Hail Mary 5 stars. It’s destined to be a classic in film libraries. Bring your family to enjoy this amazing film.
Directed by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Written by: Drew Goddard, Andy Weir
Rated: PG
Running Time: 2hr 36minSci-Fi/ Drama/ Space adventure
Release: In Theaters March 20th
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller, James Ortiz