Review of Project Hail Mary

Also written by Eliana Wilkin.

To be released March 20th, the Phil Lord and Chris Miller directed film Project Hail Mary was a demonstration of exactly how cinematography should be in this modern age.  The story follows protagonist Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling) and his exploration of space to save the Earth from imminent danger.  During his voyage, he makes contact, and eventually befriends, an alien whose planet is also in danger.  The iconic writing style of Andy Weir, the author of the novel Project Hail Mary which the movie was based on, was evident through every moment and the characters felt like they were straight out of his novel.  

Ryland Grace is a complex character who the audience feels for and connects with.  From scene to scene, the audience bounces loving and hating the protagonist.  The other main character was the alien Rocky (played and voiced by James Ortiz) who gives the audience the ability to see humanity in a different light. The characters bond with each other is heartwarming to see, Rocky is sassy and ignorant to human norms, and Grace is a bumbling dude launched into a place far away from home, and these traits interact playfully with each other to pull the audience more into the story.  Rocky and Grace’s camaraderie despite the cultural and linguistic barriers, is powerful and transcends their respected species, and with their alliance, they work to solve the drastic fate threatening their planets. 

The emotions of the movie were turbulent in the best way possible.  Throughout the plot, the scenes can easily bounce from heartbreaking to humorous.  The story speeds through several emotions in a span of five minutes and it does it all so meticulously, the movie is sad, inspirational, moving, and really, really, funny, and when it ends, the audience was just beaming at what they just watched.   

The CGI and other special effects were exactly up to standard for movies being released right now but didn’t push into overstimulation.  The screen remained bright throughout the movie and allowed for the audience to stay continually engaged.  Alongside set design and acting, the movie felt almost real.  The set design included scenes on Earth, spaceships, and different planets, all of which were perfect for their respective points in the story.

Overall, the movie was incredible and it was inspiring to see such an amazing book become a film, and we hope to see more work like this in the future.  The movie was beautiful, it was moving, and it had everything someone could ask for in a film; humor, powerful friendships, great acting, heart-wrenching plot, and an ending that’s absolutely perfect and unexpected.  The movie was a real treat to watch, and while it spans 2 hours and 30 minutes, it’s still a movie an audience would just want to see over and over again because it just hits all the right notes that people want in their entertainment.