Project Hail Mary Review: Ryan Gosling Anchors Visually Stunning Sci-Fi

Project Hail Mary pits Andy Weir's dense, hard‑science novel against Phil Lord and Chris Miller's penchant for goofier, meta humor. That clash shapes the film: Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes from an induced coma aboard a lone spacecraft, learns he is the last surviving crew member and faces a one‑way mission to stop tiny microbes that are dimming the Sun.

Lord and Miller direct with bold visual confidence, and Oscar‑winning cinematographer Greig Fraser alongside production designer Charles Wood build a tactile, convincing world that demands IMAX. Composer Daniel Pemberton’s panoramic score helps sell the grandeur, and Gosling gives a charismatic, scene‑carrying performance that many of the movie’s effects are measured against.

Still, the film’s lighter comic touches sometimes undercut its dead‑serious stakes. The emotional core arrives when Grace meets a five‑legged, rock‑like alien he names Rocky, rendered expressive despite lacking a face and voiced by James Ortiz.

hail mary, ryan gosling, andy weir, phil lord, chris miller, ryland grace, imax, greig fraser, daniel pemberton, rocky