Movie Review - Sony's Project Hail Mary

Believe in the Hail Mary.

Project Hail Mary is a 2026 science fiction adventure film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Drew Goddard, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Pascal Pictures, Open Invite Films, Waypoint Entertainment, and Lord and Miller Productions, and distributed by Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Releasing International. The film is based off of Andy Weir's 2021 novel of the same name. It stars Ryan Gosling and James Ortiz.

"Amaze amaze amaze!" - Rocky

Plot

Scientist Ryland Grace is recruited by the government to help save the dying sun from a mysterious infection that may bring about the extinction of humanity.

The Sweet

Early buzz for Project Hail Mary has been absolutely incredible. Before I read the book, this was one of my five most anticipated movies of the year. If I had made my most anticipated list after reading the book, this probably would've been second behind The Odyssey.

So, after reading the book and absolutely adoring it and hearing that this movie was supposed to be amazing, I was just salivating for this film. Does it live up to the hype?

Absolutely.

Project Hail Mary is the ultimate combination of the best of so many science fiction movies. It has the world-shattering stakes of Interstellar, the clever alien story of Arrival, the deep emotions of E.T, and the heart and humor of The Martian. The film is a dense, high-concept sci-fi movie that uses real science to tell its fictional story. This is a movie about the sun dimming, but the reason given feels like its grounded in reality. All of the physics and problem-solving that Ryland Grace has to perform has some sort of basis in our world, and that just makes it feel like a truly intelligent movie.

This movie is also visually stunning. Space movies are kind of born on third base, because space is awesome and makes for some super cool visual opportunities, but Project Hail Mary knows how to provide the audience with incredible visuals. The film beautifully blends practical environments with visual effects to give it an authentic feel. Lord and Miller have stated that they did not use a single green or blue screen for this movie. You can tell the difference between a physical object and a computer-generated image, and Project Hail Mary so often finds itself using the former to emphasize the realness, which I really, really appreciated.

Andy Weir is one of the world's best sci-fi authors, so it goes without saying that this movie's story is just as engaging and clever as you expect it to be. It's honestly a very simple concept: the sun is dying and a singular survivor on a spaceship must go and find a way to save the world, but in that concept is so much nuance and genius. The way that this narrative is crafted, through flashbacks and reveals and other twists and turns, is just so, so clever. It keeps you engaged throughout, with subplots and mystery and constant problem-solving going on. Of course, the overarching story always is about saving the sun, but it's honestly easy to forget that that's the goal because of how important and compelling each little subplot is.

And the characters in this movie...man, are they good. The highlight is, to no one's surprise, Rocky. I won't say too much, because the more you know about Rocky the less impactful this movie will be to you, but this character is going to be everyone's favorite. If you've read the book...they adapt him perfectly. From the voice acting to the puppeteering, this character is just brought to life beautifully. He's is absolutely the heart and soul of this story. Ryland is great, don't get me wrong, but I doubt anyone walks out of this movie without Rocky being their favorite character.

This film is also absolutely hilarious. Honestly, it's probably funnier than most comedy movies nowadays. Ryland and Rocky are inherently funny characters, and their dynamic is really the highlight of the film. Gosling's comedic timing, Goddard's clever dialogue, and Lord and Miller's wit just combine for some really great laughs. Andy Weir knows how to craft really funny protagonists (Mark Watney is hilarious in The Martian) and Ryland Grace is no different. Almost every joke or one-liner lands. It's probably got, like, a 90% hit rate. And that's impressive.

The performances are also just perfect. Ryan Gosling is, of course, one of the best actors of this generation, and I honestly think this is his best performance since La La Land. He captures Ryland Grace's humor and charm perfectly. He can be absolutely hilarious when he needs to be, but he also nails the emotions and heart behind this character. His timing with any comedic line is perfect. And his timing anytime he cries or has some shred of emotion is also just perfect. I really sense a fourth Oscar nomination (and maybe first win, although its very early) coming in for Gosling here.

Sandra Hüller of Anatomy of a Fall also plays the cold yet caring Eva Stratt with a lot more nuance than she had in the book. Project Hail Mary is a fantastic novel, so it's tough to say what exactly the movie improved on, but if there's one thing that it did do better, it's Stratt. In the book, Stratt is relatively one-note: she's presented as incredibly cold without any remorse or hesitations when it comes to the things she does to save the world. Here, she has a lot more humanity given to her, and most of that is conveyed through Hüller's performance. You see that these tough decisions actually weigh down on her and her cold demeanor is more of a way to emotionally distance herself from people she gets close to. She could also absolutely snag a Supporting Actress nomination at the 99th Oscars. Who knows?

It doesn't feel like there are tons of movies that come out nowadays where I've read the book first, but this is one of those instances, and I'm glad it was. This book is, as I've said throughout this review, absolutely incredible, and this movie does it justice. I love all the science-y problem solving and explanations that we get in the book, but the movie cuts a lot of it...and justifiably so. It doesn't dumb things down for the audiences - it simplifies them to prevent killing the pacing. There are some additional scenes that amplify the emotions and heart. It works as an extremely faithful adaptation with some bold new additions that don't detract from the story whatsoever. This is how you adapt a book.

I feel like I'm saying this more and more (which is a good thing), but this is the type of movie that I want to see more of. The 2010s had so many clever crowd-pleasers in the vein of Project Hail Mary, and it feels like we're getting back to that a bit. This movie may be based on a book, but it isn't really some existing IP or recognizable franchise that Hollywood is milking. Even as an adaptation of one of the most popular novels of the last ten years, this movie requires extensive creativity and hard work from its cast and crew, and all of that shows in the final product. I hope this movie kills it at the box office so we get more films like it.

And, finally, the score for this movie is just gorgeous. Daniel Pemberton is not a super well-known composer, but he did do both Spider-Verse movies, so he's got a few famous films under his belt. This score is miles better than the Spider-Verse films. It feels like a combination between the epic, cinematic feel of a John Williams score while also having these unique, Ludwig Göransson-esc atmospheric sounds that make it unique. Space operas often have fantastic scores, and Project Hail Mary checks that box perfectly. There's a specific moment where, without spoiling, we get a bunch of pink visuals (if you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about). The gorgeous cinematography paired with the swelling score made for what I would say is a perfect movie moment. Just fantastic.

The Sour

Honest to God, I really don't have much to say here. This movie is absolutely incredible. It does the book justice and is almost certainly going to end up as one of the year's best films.

There are a few tiny nitpicks I have. First off, while I think eliminating some of the super science-y explanations for things did help the pacing and momentum of the film, it did feel like they were cutting out some vital pieces of the book. I asked some of my friends who I saw the movie who have not read the book if some parts where the scientific explanations were cut down made sense, and they were a bit iffy on their answers. So just keep that in mind going in.

Secondly, I think the ending is a little bit rushed. Honestly, I felt that way reading the book. It's a really good ending, but it feels like we hit a lot of beats really fast and get to the final scene and moment very abruptly. I wish the movie would've just slowed down a bit more and given us a few final moments with some of these characters to let the impact really hit and sink in. But again, I felt that way reading the book, too. So maybe it's a problem originating with the source material.

But that's it. This movie is incredible.

Final Thoughts and Score

Project Hail Mary is basically guaranteed to be one of this year's best films. It has excitement, humor, heart, awe...everything you want from a sci-fi adventure.

I am going Sweet here. Age range is 8+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

Sweet (Great) Savory (Good)

Sour (Bad)

Moldy (Terrible)

"Project Hail Mary"

Fun Factor: 9.5/10

Acting: 9/10

Story: 9.5/10

Characters: 9/10

Quality: 9/10

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Rated PG-13 for moderate violence and action, language, disturbing themes and images, thematic elements

Released on March 20, 2026

2 hours and 36 minutes

Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace

James Ortiz as Rocky

Sandra Hüller as Eva Stratt

Lionel Boyce as Carl

Ken Leung as Yao Li-Jie

Milana Vayntrub as Olesya Ilyukhina

Priya Kansara as Mary