Are sci-fi epics back? Sci-fi epics might be back.
Our Sun is dying, and the solution lies in a remote solar system. One man stands between our extinction and our salvation… and he didn’t even want the job.
Project Hail Mary is an adaptation of the Andy Weir novel of the same name. Weir’s name has appeared before, his novel The Martian adapting into a critical success in Ridley Scott’s 2015 movie. Now, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie) take a run at this new movie. Starring Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy) James Ortiz, and Sandra Hüller, the movie is adapted for the screen by Drew Goddard, who also worked on The Martian.
Does the film live up to expectations? Yes, it does.
The film follows Ryland Grace, an elementary science teacher, who wakes up aboard an experimental spacecraft. He has little memory of how he got there, and his crewmates have died in the long journey. It turns out the nearby star isn’t even our Sun. Instead, it is Tau Ceti, nearly eleven light-years away. While you are asking “is there a xenomorph on board?” he needs to figure out what’s going on, what the mission is, how to execute it, and whether or not he is truly alone in the task?
The story is elegantly non-linear in its execution. We follow the amnesiac Grace as he figures out what’s happening, while memories come back to him. Past events start to fill in slowly, answering questions while the main story propels itself through the stars. He isn’t completely clueless; his scientific knowledge kicks in quickly, despite his spaceship-handling skills being nonexistent. Ryan Gosling has great command of goofy-yet-soulful performances, and this role fits him like a glove. It is a small cast; so a lot of its conviction lies with him, and he certainly sells it well enough.
It is safe to say that the film’s trailer shows way too much of the movie. I am not sure what the marketing team were thinking; perhaps that Project Hail Mary would be more marketable than it really has any desire to be. Comparing directly with The Martian, the story is far less grounded. While the reality of people travelling to Mars is a pipe dream (are you listening, Elon?) it is at least comprehendible. The character of Grace needs to go into an enforced coma to travel on an experimental ship powered by an alien organism to reach Tau Ceti. It is a ludicrous premise. Certainly more than “can you subsist on poop-potatoes?”
But I have to tell you, reader, I really like science fiction. So I can suspend my disbelief.
Perhaps its greatest strength, for me, is its treatment of space. The Martian‘s Mark Watney was a man intent on conquering his challenges. However, Grace is a man who is in fear and awe of his. There are funny moments and there are unnerving moments, as the enormity of the task stretches out like the starfield around him. Like all good science fiction, it is also about the human condition and communication. Especially with the juxtaposition of the character’s situation and the unveiling of past events.
The movie is remarkably slow-paced, and runs at two hours and forty minutes. So for some, it might be on the slow side; especially when put in context of the breakneck trailer (which you shouldn’t watch) most audiences saw. It gives us moments to appreciate how vast and majestic space can be. The film’s composer, Daniel Pemberton (who worked on the Into the Spider-Verse movies) did an excellent job here. I loved the score.
I am doing well not spoiling things for you. Honestly, I feel as though the less you know the better. It allows you to be fully invested in Gosling’s trepidation and the wonders of space.
The negatives are few. It feels slightly truncated in its storytelling; there is likely better pacing in the book. I could have used another twenty minutes just to get a sense of the immense (absurd) distances involved, and how difficult it is to learn certain things. Finally, it is an Amazon production. Which is a shame. But if our Amazon Prime money went into it, that’s something I suppose.
Honestly, it was a blast watching the film. It can make you laugh, maybe even cry? It has the same humour as The Martian, it has great action set pieces, as well as very good production value. This isn’t like Amazon’s other sci-fi offerings recently; the film looks stunning, otherworldly things look believable and real enough to pass muster.
I highly recommend it. Do not watch the trailer. Don’t even image search the movie. Don’t even look at the poster.
[this is where the trailer would be if it didn’t spoil everything]