Film Review #10: Project Hail Mary
"Fist my bump."
In the film adaptation of Andy Weir's 2021 novel Project Hail Mary, science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awakens from a coma aboard a spacecraft light years from Earth and realizes that he is the sole survivor on board.
Warning: there are spoilers ahead.
In the past timeline, scientists discover a microorganism known as Astrophage, whose increasing presence on the Sun threatens a disastrous global cooling on Earth.
Government agent Eva Stratt recruits Grace and other scientists to study Astrophage, before unveiling her ultimate plan: "Project Hail Mary".
Stratt intends to send a crew on a suicide mission to Tau Ceti, the only unaffected nearby star, aboard a spacecraft containing only enough fuel for a one-way trip.
However, when an Astrophage-related mishap kills members of her prospective crew, Stratt now demands that Grace replace the deceased scientists.
Upon his refusal, she instructs her team to drug our protagonist and ships him off aboard the Hail Mary by force.
In the present timeline, a lonely Grace now discovers an alien spacecraft near Tau Ceti.
The pilot of the spacecraft? A rock-like, five-legged Eridian whom Grace quickly befriends and names "Rocky". (Yo, Adrian!)
Grace soon creates a machine to allow for communication with his newfound friend, and Rocky explains that he is also the sole survivor of a mission to stop the spread of Astrophage.
Thus, the pair can salvage their respective missions by teaming up.
Did we just become best friends?
Grace and Rocky approach the planet Tau Ceti-e (or "Adrian" -- she wouldn't mind marrying him very much), where Grace recovers a sample of the organism Taumoeba, which will theoretically control the Astrophage population.
As the two continue to bond, Rocky offers Grace the Astrophage supply needed to get home safely, despite the fact that it will delay his own return voyage.
When a fuel leak causes damage to the Hail Mary and Grace is knocked unconscious, Rocky subsequently exits his spacesuit to save Grace's life, sustaining severe damage in the process.
However, Grace is ultimately able to repay Rocky's kindness.
En route back to Earth, the Taumoeba begins eating through Grace's xenonite containers and destroying the Astrophage supply on the Hail Mary.
While Grace can manage the losses, he realizes that Rocky's ship is made entirely of xenonite, and he now faces a brutal decision: let Rocky die, or risk never returning to Earth himself.
For Grace, that choice is easy -- he ships the Taumoeba home and reunites with his new best friend in space.
Back on Rocky's home planet of Erid, the Eridians now build a biodome for Grace to live in and teach science to their rock-like children.
They are also able to concoct a plan to send Grace back to Earth, but he reveals (perhaps unsurprisingly) that he may not be ready to abandon his new life after all.
My rating? 8 out of 10.
Admittedly, the science fiction genre has become a bit of a nemesis for me, but Project Hail Mary surprises in the best of ways.
Who knew that Ryan Gosling befriending a "Rocky" alien creature would prove so adorable and heartfelt?
Despite being a proverbial one-man show, this film breezes through its 156-minute runtime with spectacular visuals and consistent humor. (Take notes, Iron Lung.)
In short: "It's not half bad." "It's full good."
What were your thoughts on Project Hail Mary? Feel free to leave a note in the comments below, let's discuss :)
Here are some other films I've seen lately:
Comments
Post a Comment