Project Hail Mary Review: Ryan Gosling’s Sci-Fi Adventure with Alien Friendship

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller direct this adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2021 novel, with Ryan Gosling starring as Dr. Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up alone on an interstellar spaceship with amnesia after hypersleep. Through flashbacks, he recalls being reluctantly chosen for a desperate mission to save Earth from astrophage, a microscopic ‘star-eater’ dimming the Sun and threatening extinction. Grace reaches Tau Ceti, a system untouched by the crisis, and encounters Rocky, a rock-like alien from an ammonia world who communicates via echolocation. Their first contact evolves into a collaborative bromance, using 3D-printed models and sound mapping to overcome language barriers and tackle the astrophage problem together. Gosling brings charm to Grace’s awkward, bumbling yet determined persona, blending humour with earnestness. The film echoes The Martian’s problem-solving but adds Interstellar-like stakes and Arrival’s first-contact themes, opting for optimistic humanism over grim solemnity. Cinematographer Greig Fraser uses IMAX for tactile space visuals, supported by practical effects and Daniel Pemberton’s score. At 156 minutes, it delivers a buoyant summer blockbuster focused on nerdy science and unlikely friendship, now showing in theatres including IMAX.