Project Hail Mary Review

Movie poster for Poject Hail Mary. I've always wanted to see it. Photo from IMDb.

When “Project Hail Mary” hit the theaters this in spring, it quickly became an internet sensation.

“I thought the movie was great adaptation of the book. The actors did a phenomenal job, and I really enjoyed watching it with my family,” said senior Milo Blanco.

So, as always, The Barque had to report on it. Down below is our comprehensive review of the movie. As always, stop reading now if you are trying to avoid spoilers!

One of the first problems that “Project Hail Mary” runs into is its beginning. The main character, Ryland Grace, wakes up alone on a spaceship with little memory of who he is, on a mission to save the planet. Now, as someone who read the book, this structure of the beginning concerned me the most. The book is told through first-person narration, where we get to hear Grace’s inner thoughts, which means that even though we still have a limited perspective on what is happening some context still does exist. I didn’t think this would translate well into a movie format. However, despite the doubts I had going in, the movie did an excellent job easing us into the storyline. Scenes where Grace is seen running into trouble dealing with the spaceship or hastily trying to write out everything he knows on a whiteboard illustrates his emotional turmoil without having to spoon-feed lots of monologuing to the audience. Of course, there are a few awkward moments when Grace talks out loud to himself, but they aren’t super noticeable and don’t detract heavily from the movie.

One thing that makes the movie great, however, is its humor. Now, if any other actor was strolling around wearing corny chemistry shirts and cracking sarcastic jokes, I don’t think the humor would have been nearly as solid. But somehow, Ryan Gosling, who plays Grace, is perfect on most of his deliveries every single time. When Grace meets an alien named Rocky, also on a mission to save its plant, a lot of the information we get on his species is told through tiny video clips aboard Grace’s spaceship. The clips are told in a reality TV style format, where Grace does confessionals to the camera about what living with Rocky is like. It adds a sense of humor to the scientific aspects of the movie, which resonated well to me as an audience member.

While this wasn’t a problem for me, some who watched the movie had issues with the second main character, the alien life-form Rocky.

“It was hard for me to empathize with a rock,” said biology teacher Jessica Carruthers.

However, in my opinion, I think Rocky’s unique appearance is part of what makes the movie so good. Typically, in other space movies (like “Star Wars” and “Avatar”), the creatures that are friendly often take on a humanoid form. I thought that Rocky’s rock-like visuals, as well as the difficulties he has in perceiving things in a human way make the movie a little more realistic. After all, it’s very unlikely that the first life we encounter outside of Earth would take a humanoid form.

The best part about the movie, however, is its story of cooperation. The movie centers relationship between Rocky and Grace, and portrayed the emotional exchanges between the two  beautifully. The scene where their spaceship breaks and Rocky risks everything to save Grace is so dramatic that it made me tear up in the theater. Likewise, the heart wrenching realization Grace comes to when he realizes he will have to go back and save Rocky is delivered with perfect emotional intent.

“I think one of the best parts of the movie was that it really showed how two organisms so different can come together, find things in common and still build a relationship,” said freshman Jane Lee.

The relationship between Rocky and Grace is one of friendship, where both share their own scientific discoveries together. The innovations that occur as a result illustrate that when scientists of different backgrounds and perspectives work together, it can create life-saving results. That message  was one of the things I loved most about the book, and the movie does an excellent job adapting that to the big screen.

Now, if you’re someone who is into the nitty-gritty science of space travel, there are some moments where the movie might fall short. Lots of descriptions of all the scientific explanations that were in the book are cut out from the movie, because the focus is less on the technology and more on the relationships between the characters. For most, this isn’t an issue. However, if you’re someone who loved the book because of how it nerds out about astrophysics, you might leave the theater a little disappointed at what was left out.

“I definitely think the book is better at explaining the scientific stuff, because the movie kind of generalizes it,” Lee said. 

Overall, however, I think “Project Hail Mary” would work as a fantastic standalone if it wasn’t an adaption. The raw emotion projected by Gosling onscreen combined with the surreal environment of space creates a fantastic story that immediately sucks the viewer in. So, if you’re looking for your next watch, you might want to stop by Lincoln Square and buy a ticket to go see it while it’s still screening.