Project Hail Mary review: large-scale sci-fi with tons of heart

Project Hail Mary pairs a big budget and bestselling source material with star power and confident direction to deliver a visually striking, emotionally driven space adventure. Ryan Gosling’s dry-witted performance as Ryland Grace anchors the film, while the central bond with Rocky the alien provides much of its warmth and humor.

The story follows Grace, a scientist-turned-teacher drafted onto a one-way mission after a mysterious microbe begins dimming the sun. He and two colleagues travel to a distant star that appears resistant, but Grace awakens alone from an induced coma and must carry the mission—and humanity’s future—by himself.

Much of the film’s charm comes from the awkward, evolving friendship between Grace and Rocky: the alien’s inventive methods of communication, Grace synthesizing a voice for him, and the small, often laugh-out-loud moments that grow into genuinely touching sacrifices.

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