Score: A-/B+
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller
Running time: 156 minutes
Rated PG-13
Long Story Short: Sci-fi "saving the world" blockbusters tend to be heavy and serious, but directors Lord and Miller (The LEGO Movie) and star Gosling break the mold in a fresh, satisfying way. There's not much new to the plot but the alien here is more "alien" than usual, while the technical details receive needed pep from a constant stream of irreverent, well-written humor. Maybe not quite a scifi classic, but on the other hand, it should appeal to all kinds of movie-goers. Highly recommended.
Project Hail Mary is an entertaining and well-made sci-fi crowdpleaser, thanks largely to its star lead and some clever directing work. I have become far less interested in sci-fi recently, probably a combination of changing tastes and a lack of quality titles (Ad Astra being a particularly depressing failure). It's a difficult genre to get right and I don't really like the cold and, well, alien feel of many of them. To my pleasant surprise, then, Hail Mary largely overcomes these tonal genre obstacles. The overall plot is pretty standard stuff, requiring a hero - Gosling's Grace - to go into outer space to solve a dilemma that is threatening the human race/Earth. Where most sci-fi movies lean into the tension of the mission and the technical challenges and sci-fi imagery, Hail Mary focuses mostly on its main character and his relationship to an alien acquaintance (whom he names "Rocky"). Gosling is a very charismatic actor, so this is a wise choice. Grace is a failed (but brilliant) biologist with a nerdy but charming demeanor and a great sense of (often self-deprecating) humor. Some of my favorite scenes are those back on Earth, as Grace tries to help figure out the scientific mystery using fairly lo-tech, creative methods and a good dose of laughter. His banter with Rocky - a sufficiently alien-looking creature who we hear via a computer translator using an amusingly flat tone - is also very enjoyable, and the two develop a bond that is considerably more affecting than what most sci-fi movies produce.
Hail Mary is also helped by nonlinear chronology, which mostly makes up for its long, two-and-a-half hour-plus running time. The first thing we see is Grace waking up from a coma on the space ship, and neither he nor we know why he is there. The earlier Earth parts then kick in, although even then there is a slow-drip reveal of the movie's plot, first introducing Grace's high school teacher character. It's not a new narrative trick by any means, but an effective one to build curiosity in the audience. The Earth scenes also first convey the movie's irreverent tone (a highlight of directors Lord and Miller's standout hit The LEGO Movie), a bold choice - but a good one - even as it rolls out the high stakes of the plot. Grace himself doesn't seem fully serious, but again, in a good way (we also get a few details of his background later to help explain why). Much of what I've described so far is "A"-level material, but Hail Mary is not without its flaws. While I did not want to see a standard, tech-heavy plot, the movie also glides a bit too easily past some of what are ostensibly some of the plot's greatest challenges - even the central, world-saving part. It dedicates a good chunk of time (perhaps too much) to Grace and Rocky's meeting where they must figure out how to communicate. This is the slowest part of the movie for me, while also solving the challenge a little too tidily. Also convenient is Grace's "astro-NOT" somehow becoming quite the expert on the space ship's systems and controls. Maybe these are details, but cumulatively they create the sensation of sailing past the rough parts to focus on character only. The plot itself gets both a bit messy and more contrived in the final act, too - but I did find the ending at least to be satisfying and appropriate to the tone of the movie. Finally, perhaps I'm just jaded/spoiled by better images in the past but Hail Mary has little to impress visually; however, the score is good, particularly one fantastic needle drop. So it's imperfect, yes, but still plenty entertaining no matter what "species" of movie-goer you are.
***
Project Hail Mary is another strong success for the year in movies so far, livening up the stale sci-fi genre to improbably appeal to a general audience as proved by its box office blasting past $200 million in its third weekend. It also continues the streak of new movies that are either a little or a lot different than what we (at least, I) am used to seeing, creating a freshness to the moviegoing experience that has been tremendously rewarding so far in 2026. It's not quite at the level of The Bride! or Send Help - maybe it was just a little too "crowdpleasing" for me - but it certainly beats the pants off the one formulaic movie I have seen this year, Hoppers. Please keep this originality coming, Hollywood!!!
* By source, https://x.com/AmazonMGMStudio/status/2020587191919890825, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80301679
