Hail this space movie!
Ryan Gosling is probably the better choice for the leading man of the new Sci-Fi film “Project Hail Mary” than Chris Pratt would have been. Given his recent choices of “The Electric State” and “Mercy,” Pratt doesn’t seem committed to the genre at this point. He has to do more than shout and act cool. He has to possess the humor and attitude that he gave to himself in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. But Gosling has been having a great streak with the genre, kudos to “Blade Runner: 2049” and “First Man,” and in the comedy genre, he’s killing it with “Barbie” and “The Fall Guy.” He has made a name for himself in the 2000s, the 2010s, and the 2020s (and don’t forget, he also won us over in “The Notebook,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “Drive,” and “La La Land,” etc.) .
“Project Hail Mary” is based on Andy Weir’s book with the screenplay by Drew Goddard, and like “The Martian,” this one knows how to be funny, visually stunning, emotional, and consistent. And this is also the first movie Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have directed since “22 Jump Street,” and these are two of the bravest filmmakers to tackle on various genres. And I’ve been waiting for another directing job from them, and I’m glad this is their next project.
Gosling stars as Ryland Gracean astronaut, who wakes up on a space ship (Project Hail Mary) with no memory of what has happened, who he is, and why he is so smart. Side effects of being in a medically induced coma. You know how it is. But he begins to remember that he was a middle school science teacher, who was recruited by government agent Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller) to help save humanity when an alien species known as the Astrophage is stealing the heat from the Sun. You know the deal: without heat from it, Earth freezes over. And without the agriculture to support people and animals, game over.
He is in great denial of being humanity’s only hope, but he has the know how to go science on whatever this species is, and he eventually ends up making contact with a rock creature whose ship attaches itself to his ship. Grace names the creature Rocky, and he soon develops the equipment to make it/him speak English (James Ortiz is the voice and lead puppeteer). Now, why can’t those $300 million robots look as lively and flexible as Rocky? And why can’t the planets of “Rebel Moon” be as exhilarating as that green and orange planet these two come across?
Lord and Miller have both shared the joys of animation with “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “The Lego Movie” and the comedy and vulgarity of the “21 Jump Street” movies. And in “Project Hail Mary,” they both are committed to giving it comedy and great visuals, while taking the Sci-Fi drama genre seriously as well as the book. I could easily relate to the main protagonist, because the science here would be way over my head, but I can sense when the film is intelligent in its examination. It may be a Lord-Miller movie, but he isn’t trying to figure the science out to be cool.
I could keep praising Gosling all day in this review, but he merges his acting abilities into one character. He’s terrified of being involved with something as big as traveling to a star to save humanity, he’s befuddled when he wakes up and has no idea what is going on, and he adds some much need humor to his space odyssey. Pun intended. And with some of the best space movies, it knows when to be quiet, when to bring on the effects, and when to turn off the gravity.
Some people may comment on how long it takes to get to the end of the story, and we’ve had similar complaints with other otherwise likable Sci-Fi movies like “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” or “Mickey 17.” I was thinking that a bit the first time I saw it last Friday, but the more I was processing my thoughts and emotions, the more my mind was opened to the infinite possibilities that “Project Hail Mary” opens up to. I saw this in 70MM, and in any format, this is one of the best of the genre.
