There’s a moment about 1 hour into Project Hail Mary where the audience and I collectively lost their minds — and that feeling never really left the theater. Ryan Gosling is magnetic as Ryland Grace, the amnesiac astronaut piecing together why he’s alone on a spacecraft millions of miles from Earth, but it’s Rocky who absolutely steals the entire film as his trusty sidekick.
The alien companion at the heart of this story is a genuine cinematic achievement. Without giving too much away, the way the film builds Rocky’s personality — the curiosity, the humour, the unexpected warmth — is something special. By the midpoint you’re completely invested, and the chemistry between Grace and Rocky is as good as any buddy dynamic in recent memory. Think of the best parts of Cast Away, but make it funnier, stranger, and considerably more scientifically delightful.
Directors Lord and Miller brings Andy Weir’s novel to life with real confidence. The zero-gravity sequences are spectacular, the problem-solving at the core of the story is genuinely thrilling, and the film manages to be both a big crowd-pleasing blockbuster and something genuinely thoughtful underneath. It’s funny when it wants to be, devastating when it needs to be, and endlessly inventive throughout.
Go see it on the biggest screen you can find. And stay for every second.