Direction: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Country: USA
Project Hail Mary, a family-friendly sci-fi comedy-drama directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a teacher-turned-astronaut tasked with an impossible mission: saving Earth from starvation and extinction caused by a gradual, unexplained dimming of the sun. During his solitary journey, he establishes communication with an alien creature who shares the same goal of saving its own planet. The screenplay, written by Drew Goddard, adapts Andy Weir’s novel of the same name. Goddard previously adapted another of Weir’s celebrated works, The Martian, brought to the screen by Ridley Scott in 2015.
True to form, the film takes us on a journey against all odds, with occasional narrative confusion and some overly extended passages offset by a welcome sense of humor and a heartfelt tone. This is a blockbuster that works, if modestly, thanks to its unflashy visuals—a subtle homage to the space operas of the 1980s—and to Ryan Gosling’s strong performance, marking his second portrayal of an astronaut after First Man (2018).
What stands out most in this survivalist space tale is its refusal to follow entirely predictable paths, leaning less on action and more on themes of friendship, curiosity, compassion, and courage. Still, some sections feel uneven, occasionally slipping into avoidable melodrama. Though technically proficient, Project Hail Mary may not rank among the great sci-fi films, but it remains a fairly entertaining one.
