"Project Hail Mary" is Pure (Space) Movie Magic

While I do routinely give a few movies five stars every year, it is only once every several years when I walk out of a movie feeling that I just watched an instant classic, the kind that will likely outlive me and will be watched by my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The last time I felt this way was with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which reinvisioned what a biopic could (and should) be. Today, I am pleased to report that Christopher Miller and Phil Lord’s “Project Hail Mary” is another such film; the rare Hollywood home run that reminds audiences why we love movies and experiencing them on the big screen. With a wonderful script, great acting, and imagination that leaps into the soul, the movie even has a more family-friendly PG-13 rating.

The film is based on Andy Weir’s novel. If that name sounds familiar, it is because he also wrote the crowd-pleaser “The Martian,” which, for my money, also had a bit of movie magic that is rare to find. The man is taking scientific facts and writing compelling and (usually) charming stories around them. “Project Hail Mary” has the technical wizardry of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the alien charm of Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial,” and the adventure of Randal Kleiser’s “The Flight of the Navigator,” all while carving out its own modern identity with modern visual graphics and sensibilities. I saw the movie in a 70mm IMAX projection, and the images were immersive and took my breath away.

While this is the format I would encourage viewers to see it in, I do not doubt that a standard big screen will capture the same wonder that will make kids today become lifelong cinephiles. The story revolves around a teacher who has been sent to space to find a cure for the sun. There are black spots on the sun that are slowly dimming the light, and if they aren’t stopped, the temperature will drop enough that there will be a global food shortage. Dr. Grace (Ryan Gosling) is the man who has been sent to space. While he may not be an astronaut (he puts the “not” in astronaut), he is the kind of scientist the mission requires. Yes, that makes success a long shot. A ‘Hail Mary’ if you will.

While adults will appreciate the environmental themes in the film, everyone will appreciate the adventure that unfolds once Dr. Grace winds up in space. This is where the visuals kick into gear, the fish out of water concept takes shape, and we even meet the co-star of the movie: a rock scientist who is affectionately named Rocky by Dr. Grace. The two develop the sort of onscreen friendship that warms an audience's heart, while keeping the suspense of the central mission at the center of the conflict.

“Project Hail Mary” is easily one of the best movies of the year. It is probably one of the best movies of the decade, if I am being frank. If everyone who complains about Hollywood’s lack of imagination doesn’t buy tickets to see this, then I have no idea what it is they want from the industry anymore. These kinds of films - the kind that give you the sense that you are being transported into a whole new world - come along so few and far between that it will hurt you more than the studio if you choose to sit this one out.

This review was originally published on The Fandom Post.