Project Hail Mary was great.
No, not great.
It was amazing.
There aren’t enough words to describe this movie, and even still, they would all fall short of the truth.
The story of the film is quite simple and adapts the book by the same name, written by Andy Weir. The sun is dying. And the stars around it, too. It follows a junior high school teacher, Ryland Grace, portrayed by Ryan Gosling, who goes to space to find out why this one star is not continuing to thrive.
The audio and visuals are part of the reason that I consider this movie a 10/10. I could already tell this movie was going to be a treat to the senses when the song the marketers used “Champagne Supernova” by Oasis in the trailer.
But it’s not only the needle drops that are good; it’s also the score written and composed by Daniel Pemberton. In one scene, where Grace is outside the ship collecting samples, he looks back at the planet in front of him, and that’s when the music starts going all out, amplified by the vibrant green of the planet in front of him. The song that plays is called “A Moment,” and it really was a moment. This movie should win an Oscar for just the scene alone.
Additionally, the characters were great. The emotions of fear, sadness, and hope that Ryan Gosling was able to bring to the character of Ryland Grace were surreal. The writers wrote up this character who cares for the kids he teaches and fights for the world they live in. Gosling portrays that so well; he was made for the role.
Gosling wasn’t able to do this by himself, either; the script that was given to him blows my mind with how beautiful it is. It’s a story for everyone. It’s got emotion, it’s got humor, it’s got stakes, it’s got life.
However, a majority of that writing comes from the guy who wrote the original story, and it’s also one of – if not the best – adapted books to the big screen.
A week before the film was released to the public, I read the book, which showed how, when the stakes are raised, the people of this planet can come together and solve problems. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” (Weir 128).
The movie felt like it was ripped right out of the book, unlike many other adaptations nowadays. It felt like the book, but with something new, something there that wasn’t in the book before. There was a sense of urgency that wasn’t in the book that elevated this story.
Project Hail Mary is, if not in the last 26 years, the best standalone cinematography project humans have been able to put out.
