Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance from killing the sun and saving Earth. An unexpected friendship may be the key.
Ryan Gosling stars as Dr. Ryland Grace, a molecular biologist and middle school science teacher chosen to man a one-way trip to Tau Ceti, the only star in our galactic neighborhood currently unaffected by the star-killing Astrophages. The film opens with Grace waking from an almost 12-year coma, with no memory of who he is or what he’s doing in deep space. As if that wasn’t terrifying enough, he also discovers he is the only survivor of the three-man crew—crewmates Yáo Li-Jie and Olesya Ilyukhina (played by Ken Leung and Milana Vayntrub, respectively) didn’t survive the trip. Gradually, Grace begins to recover his memories and his mission plan, as revealed through flashbacks. Gosling does a wonderful job of portraying the unfathomable loneliness and bewilderment in this impossible situation.
While monitoring Tau Ceti’s resistance to the Astrophages, Grace encounters an alien vessel containing a five-legged engineer from the planet Erid, whom he nicknames “Rocky.” The two, developing a way to communicate with each other, are like Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece “Arrival” meets “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Rocky, like Grace, is also the sole survivor of a similar mission.
The theme of interstellar teamwork is refreshing, given the state of the world today.
The film itself is a Hail Mary for Amazon MGM, as it cost almost $250 million to make, all without the ubiquitous Hollywood green screen. The brilliant space visuals evoke “Solaris” and “2001: A Space Odyssey,” while the story’s general commitment to scientific accuracy (the extraterrestrial co-star notwithstanding) reminded me of the other Drew Goddard-adapted Andy Weir novel, “The Martian,” which bears a similar sense of humor.
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were the perfect duo to bring this book to life. The choice to portray Rocky with a blend of puppetry and animation, rather than solely in CGI, gives his character and his interactions with Grace more weight. The heartwarming and universal themes of survival and unity are a message the world could use right now.
If you loved “The Martian,” or you’re just in the mood for a beautifully made space adventure with a message of hope, “Project Hail Mary” is for you.
In Theaters Friday, March 20th
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Fantastic Review!