Project Hail Mary” is one of the best movies of the year. Even if you haven’t read the book, the movie pulls you in with a compelling mix of action, science, humor, and heartfelt moments. Ryan Gosling produced the movie and stars as Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher and molecular biologist who wakes up on a spacecraft and figures out he is the only survivor of a mission to save the sun from dying. His goal is to figure out a way to stop the “Astrophage”, a microorganism causing the sun and other stars to die, which will send Earth into an ice age in 30 years. The movie takes place through flashbacks and present-day moments as Ryland learns about his old life and bonds with a lovable alien named Rocky, to try and save both of their planets from extinction. The reasons it was an enjoyable movie are the humor and friendship between Rocky and Ryland, the accessibility of the science, and the visual effects.
The relationship between Ryland, referred to as Grace, and Rocky is the heart of the story. Their relationship starts with a communication boundary and evolves into a friendship between two different species with the same goal of saving their planets. Gosling’s acting in these scenes is incredible, considering he was talking to a puppet. The production team decided to use a puppet, rather than CGI, to avoid Gosling talking to a green screen, which allowed Gosling to improvise and add depth and emotion to the scenes. James Ortiz, a puppeteer, actor, and designer, brought the alien to life through motion and was the voice actor. His portrayal of Rocky, that merged child-like wonder and angry impatience, creates memorable scenes when combined with Gosling’s humorous and emotional performance.
In some of the scenes with Rocky, Gosling wasn’t actually acting. He told People that sometimes his kids would come in and read the lines for Rocky, so he was wearing an earpiece and listening to his daughters, ages 9 and 11. “And there’s some moments in the movie where I’m laughing, or I’m just so charmed by him, which is like, it’s actually my kids talking to me and helping me out,” he explains. This made the scenes much more relatable and genuine, which adds to the strong bond between Rocky and Grace.
There was a lot of scientific explanation that had to happen for the plot to make sense. The movie did a great job of making the science easy to understand for the audience. The science is explained through visuals for abstract concepts, and Grace uses hands-on ways to solve problems. The science is broken down and explained in a realistic way that adds to the plot without making it confusing. This is important, especially as a science fiction movie, because it makes the science seem believable, without having to comprehend long and complicated topics.
The movie would not be complete without visual effects. The movie was shot with no green or blue screens, and while they used some CGI, it was mostly sets and LED screens. This made everything look more realistic and drew the audience in. “What’s fun about the movie is that there is no green screen in the movie whatsoever. Not a single green or blue screen was used. The whole ship was built as a set from the inside. We had a huge section of the exterior of the ship on the outside that we built,” Director Christopher Miller described.
Overall, Project Hail Mary is a 10/10 and is highly recommended by fans of the book and anyone who wants an exciting, humorous, and heartfelt movie to enjoy with friends and family. “I made this for them essentially,” Gosling says. “As a family, I’d like a movie like this that I’d like to see. I just feel really honored that I got to make one.”
