Ryan Gosling blasts off with “Project Hail Mary”

Moving a story from the internal monologue of a best-selling novel to the visual language of the big screen is a notoriously delicate operation — but with the works of novelist Andy Weir, Hollywood has succeeded twice. 

“Project Hail Mary” is Weir’s third novel following the smash hit “The Martian” and the moderately received “Artemis.”

In an interview with Grimdark Magazine, Weir remarks how “Project Hail Mary” was initially conceptualized as “Zhek,” a traditional space opera involving aliens, faster-than-light travel and a telepathic protagonist. However, Weir deemed the protagonist as “too boring,” but salvaged aspects of the manuscript for “Project Hail Mary.”

Even before the novel’s release in 2021, film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer secured the film rights to the novel for $3 million and attached Ryan Gosling in the leading role with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller being hired to direct and write the screenplay two months after the movie’s announcement. 

After numerous production delays, the film adaptation of “Project Hail Mary” premiered on March 20, 2026, starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz and Lionel Boyce. The film received glowing reviews from critics and general audiences, but how does it compare to other science fiction offerings? 

The story begins in a not-so-distant future, where a powerful yet dangerous microorganism known as astrophage is consuming the sun’s energy, which will cause a catastrophic global cooling within 30 years. Desperate to stop the sun’s dimming, a team of three astronauts are sent on a mission to observe the star Tau Ceti, which has resisted the astrophage infection. 

The only problem is that the sole survivor of the voyage, Ryland Grace (Gosling), has awakened with amnesia and is completely alone 12 light-years away from Earth on a one-way trip, as the Hail Mary does not have enough fuel to return home. Throughout the movie, Grace begins to regain his memory as a school teacher and former molecular biologist, whose work has caught the interest of Eva Stratt (Hüller), a European government agent. 

While approaching Tau Ceti, Grace stumbles upon an alien craft belonging to a five-legged, spider-like alien known as an Edridian, whom Grace names “Rocky.” Rocky is also investigating the star’s resistance to astrophage, which Grace comes to understand after creating a translation program to communicate. 

Together, it is up to the two of them to save their respective homes by breeding a natural predator for the astrophage. 

Going into the movie with prior knowledge of the novel, I was amazed that despite the majority of the movie consisting of just Grace and Rocky, their scenes together never feel like they drag on for too long. The transitions into Grace’s flashbacks as he regains his memory also never feel like they disrupt the movie, and at the end of the day, you feel sympathy for him as he’s been sent out on what is essentially a suicide mission and has only one chance to save Earth.

Apart from the two leads, the other character that gets the most screentime in the movie is Stratt. Compared to her book counterpart, Stratt in the movie is presented as less ruthless and more emotional and is given scenes that show her vulnerability while being in charge of such a risky mission, such as one where she sings karaoke with her colleagues. There is almost a romantic chemistry between her and Grace that is absent in the novel. 

I know a lot of science fiction movies — and movies in general — nowadays use heavy CGI and green screen for their special effects, but while watching the movie, it almost felt like I was in space with Grace and Rocky as well.

 “Project Hail Mary” uses a combination of visual effects and practical effects, with the Hail Mary having its interior built and filmed in front of a black screen so that the light reflecting off Gosling’s suit was the actual light from the stars on Rocky’s ship. 

The character of Rocky was portrayed via puppetry; puppeteer James Ortiz and the special effects department created the puppet with a thin fiberglass shell and applied CGI to any complex movements. Ortiz also provides the voice of Rocky.

In an era where most movies lack passion and creativity, “Project Hail Mary” feels like a much-needed jolt of adrenaline. It is a near-faithful adaptation with the heart and soul of the original novel retained. 

However, it is still not quite a perfect movie, as its environmental themes in the novel have been downplayed — such as the nuking of Antarctica to create more greenhouse gases as the Earth begins to cool being completely removed from the final cut.

I also believe the movie could have been a little shorter, with its nearly three-hour runtime. 

As a beautifully crafted movie, “Project Hail Mary” certainly deserves a massive thumbs-up — or thumbs-down if you're Rocky.