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Project Hail Mary is the directorial return of Phil Miller and Christopher Lord, the filmmaking duo behind buddy cop comedy, 21 Jump Street (2012 ) and The Lego Movie (2014 ).
Since then, they have been working behind-the-scenes, producing the much-loved Spider-Verse films.
Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling has had a string of excellent roles, delivering memorable performances in La La Land (2016 ), Blade Runner 2049 (2017 ) and First Man (2018 ). In recent years, Gosling has drifted into more comic roles, most hilariously in Barbie (2023 ). His reputation ensures that attaching his name to a film guarantees added attention.
The idea of an esteemed actor such as Ryan Gosling alone in space (like Matt Damon in The Martian (2015 ) is an instantly intriguing hook.
Dr Ryland Grace is a middle school science teacher, and former molecular biologist. He is approached by Eva Stratt, director of a global planet-saving mission, to put his knowledge to use. Presented out of chronological order, the film traces the titular project’s evolution, and its aftermath, once Grace finds himself alone on a ship, unable to remember how he ended up there.
The film’s direction deserves recognition. There is a clear artistic vision and authorial sensibility on display. Despite its gargantuan budget financed by Amazon, it avoids the visually drab style and homogeneous storytelling approach to blockbusters, which has plagued Marvel’s films. It is refreshing to see a commercially-minded film where creative choices are left to the creatives.
It trusts its audience to adapt to its unconventional approach, encouraging them to be more active than passive while watching. The editing is also quite striking in how the story moves between timelines. It gives the film a playful feel which complements Gosling’s charming wit in the face of possible disaster. Acclaimed German actress Sandra Huller is well-cast as the sobering antidote to Gosling’s sunnier disposition.
The film’s great success is Grace’s relationship with an alien rock character, and how it manages to be genuinely compelling and emotionally affecting. Films about humans developing relationships with robots/aliens are nothing new, but it works well here.
The banter is clever enough to keep you grinning, rather than groaning, and Gosling is highly skilled with comedic timing. The visual effects are inventive and eye-catching.
In general, the budget is used wisely on spectacular visuals that distinguish the film, featuring vividly designed set-pieces that are exciting, tense and emotionally involving.
It seems that the cosmic adventure aspect and this odd-couple companionship was the main priority because the Earthbound scenes are given less attention, zipping past the project’s background and science to the point where that sub-plot struggles to fit with the space-set adventure. The film feels uneven as a result.
It is a long film, and watching Gosling’s character continuously mutter to himself, and slowly develop a connection to a rock, will test the patience of some viewers, especially when it takes time away from another compelling relationship dynamic on Earth.
Naturally, it will be compared to Ridley Scott’s The Martian because of similar narratives, and sharing the same writers.
Hail Mary leans more into sci-fi. It is less interested in realism, while The Martian shows a more grounded, believable approach to surviving in space, as well as the political ramifications of such an event.
The optimistic portrayal of global politics in that film ironically feels more alien in our current reality, and is an element that is disappointingly ignored in Hail Mary.
That being said, both films make for a fitting double header: the best of both worlds.
3/5 stars
In Galway cinemas now
