I read Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary when it came out and gave it five stars on Goodreads without hesitation. It is one of the finest science fiction novels I have ever read. The same writer who gave us The Martian took everything that worked there and built something even more emotionally ambitious. So when the film was announced with Ryan Gosling attached, my honest first thought was: this is going to be impossible to pull off.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller proved me wrong. Not completely, but enough to matter.
What they have done visually is worth talking about first, because it sets the tone for everything. There is no green screen in this film. The entire spacecraft is physically built, which means Ryan Gosling can actually touch and feel everything around him. That choice shows. The physicality of the filmmaking gives the film a texture and credibility that most sci-fi adaptations skip in favour of post-production. The art direction, the cinematography, the overall direction: this is brilliant filmmaking from top to bottom.
The first fifteen to twenty minutes are extraordinary. Five genuinely heartwarming scenes, one after another, that most directors would be thrilled to have anywhere in their film. There is a scene between Dr. Grace and his security advisor Carl at a hardware store that is so simple and so beautifully done. The film earns your affection early and holds onto it.
Ryan Gosling plays Dr. Ryland Grace, and I do not think there is another actor who could have done what he does here. The role requires a specific kind of goofiness balanced with brilliance, and Gosling finds that balance almost perfectly. He brings out every little detail of this character. The only area where things tip slightly too far is the physical comedy. There are moments where the fumbling over wires makes you quietly wonder whether the fate of the Earth is really in safe hands. In the book, that goofiness is always counterbalanced by flashes of pure intellectual brilliance that remind you why Dr. Grace is the only scientist trusted with this mission. The film leans a little more into the comedy side of that equation. It is still hilarious, and it works, but it is a balance worth noting.
Sandra Hüller plays Eva Strathory, the head of Project Hail Mary, and brings real weight to the role. But the true standout of the second half is Rocky. Without giving anything away, the realisation of this character on screen is extraordinary. If you have read the book, the only reaction you will have is: amaze, amaze, amaze. James Ortiz, the puppeteer behind Rocky, does something genuinely incredible here. The physical performance is jaw-dropping. My one gripe is the voice, which takes on a slightly robotic tone where the book gave the character more warmth and quirkiness. Rocky is already visually very rigid in his appearance and movement, so a touch more softness in the voice would have completed the picture. I understand it as a creative choice. But it is the one thing I would change.
Daniel Pemberton's background score is sensational. Every important scene is made more immersive, more emotional, and more memorable because of his work. The karaoke night sequence in particular, and the way Pemberton handles that moment, is one of the most joyful things I have experienced in a cinema this year.
The one meaningful difference between the book and the film is where the weight sits. The novel balances survival and science on one side against a profound friendship on the other. The film tilts toward the friendship, and the science takes a step back. Given a runtime of two hours and thirty-six minutes, that choice makes sense. The granular scientific discovery that makes the book so gripping is extraordinarily hard to translate to screen without slowing everything down. But it does occasionally leave a gap where you wish you could see Dr. Grace's mind working more visibly. The film asks you to trust that he is the most brilliant scientist on Earth. It mostly earns that trust, but the book proved it on every page.
Project Hail Mary is an absolute must-watch. It is hilarious, it is beautiful, it is emotionally affecting. Ryan Gosling is at the very top of his game. Lord and Miller have delivered something visually stunning that honours the spirit of Andy Weir's work even where it makes different choices. Watch it in the best cinema available to you, with the best sound system you can find. You will not regret it.
If you have read the book and noticed other differences, drop them in the comments below. There is one scene added at the end that is not in the original, but I am steering well clear of spoilers on that one.
