Former microbiologist and present day science schoolteacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awakens inside of a body bag while being tended to by an automated robot medic. Fighting off the automated medic, Grace stumbles around a strange structure that turns out to be the interior of an interstellar spaceship. At first, he has no idea why he’s aboard the ship, or where in space the ship is located. But as his memories slowly come back to him, in the form of flashbacks, we learn that Grace is part of a three-man crew aboard the Hail Mary, a spaceship traveling towards the Tau Ceti system, located just under twelve light years from Earth. It turns out that the very same sun that has lit Earth with its light and warmth for billions of years is slowly dimming, threatening all life on the planet as it freezes into an icy ball.
What’s causing the sun to dim are particles that are dubbed astrophages, and our sun isn’t the only victim of these particles. Other stars out in space are also dimming. When it’s discovered that the sun in the Tau Ceti system is the only star in Earth’s local region that’s not affected by the astrophage plague, the Project Hail Mary team was formed to build a ship and send it there to find out why. But when Grace awakes up from his medically induced coma, he finds his two fellow astronauts are already dead as he struggles to remember the details of what he’s supposed to do before it’s too late for himself and humanity. Based on the book by Andy Weir, who also wrote The Martian, which was turned into an excellent film by screenwriter Drew Goddard (Cabin In The Woods) and director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Project Hail Mary is another superb hard science fiction film that was also adapted by Goddard, but was directed this time by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 & 22 Jump Street).
I’ve always loved the space opera part of science fiction—such as the space cadets of Star Trek and the space wizards of Star Wars—as much as the next geek, but I’m also always looking out for the next hard science fiction film, the kind that dwells on the science in science fiction. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Phase IV, Ad Astra, Blade Runner (and its magnificent sequel, BR 2049, which also stars Ryan Gosling), Arrival, and Gravity all fit the description of really good hard science fiction stories, where more emphasis is placed on the science being as realistic as possible. But these cinematic hard SF stories must also walk the tightrope of being engaging both scientifically, as well as be exciting. And Project Hail Mary easily accomplishes this. Lord & Miller manage to juggle the science, drama, and comedic moments effortlessly. Project Hail Mary is one of those extremely satisfying movies that fills in all of the blanks, story-wise—and does this all without insulting the audience’s intelligence.
Ryan Gosling is superb here as Ryland Grace. He easily carries the movie on his shoulders in both the present day and flashback scenes, with the flashback sequences being just as gripping as the present, providing the viewer a fully fleshed out story. Sandra Hüller (The Zone Of Interest) is also excellent as Eva Stratt, the overall leader of Project Hail Mary. It’s a nice touch how the film shows Eva is working to thaw out the world as her very own icy exterior cracks. Project Hail Mary is another marvelous addition to the hard science fiction library that’s a makes for a very easy watch. It’s a vastly entertaining film that’s filled with hope, something we really could use more of these days. --SF
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