Project Hail Mary - Movie Review

(I'll try my best to keep it as spoiler-free as I can. Some mentions of specific plot points are mentioned. This is your warning.)

I want to preface this review by stating that I am a gigantic fan of space and anything related to space. I love the idea of chasing the stars, discovering new parts of the universe and what it has to offer, and achieving extraordinary feats in the name of humanity. As you can probably guess, my favorite space movie, and favorite movie of all time for that matter, is Interstellar. I think I have lost count of how many times I have seen it, but it is definitely in the 40s. So I had somewhat of an expectation going into Project Hail Mary due to the amount of highly rated reviews it had and how many people told me to watch it because "it's just that good." However, it was not a ridiculously high expectation because I knew it was not going to have as many drama and thrilling aspects as Interstellar after watching a few trailers.

Now onto the actual review. I have to say, this movie exceeded my expectations, but only just a little bit. I think Project Hail Mary was absolutely stunning in its visuals. It was surprisingly accurate with the astrophysics and science behind it, though given that Andy Weir is a massive astronomy nerd, maybe I shouldn't be surprised lol. The set design was immaculate. I really enjoyed the view of Adrian and the surrounding environment of Tau Ceti. I was intrigued with how xenonite is formed, and I loved the rocky (lol), lattice-like structure of the models and the ship Rocky had. Rock also dropped the realest line in all of cinema, which is a slight exaggeration, when talking about his mate.

Now, with how much I really like this movie, it also has its caveats. The movement Grace had in zero gravity made it seem way too obvious that Ryan Gosling was in a harness. The pacing between the present and the past was very disorienting in the beginning, but I got used to it as the movie progressed. There were some scenes with past Grace that felt awkward with the comedy they were trying to portray. Finally, some seemingly important plot points felt rushed. It felt like they were trying to quickly explain why NASA was able to build the space station so fast, but maybe that's just the Interstellar expectation creeping in and wanting extra movie time.

Overall, Project Hail Mary is a great watch that any sci-fi fan will enjoy. The movie does a beautiful job of translating complex science and the isolation of deep space into an engaging story, carried by the friendship between Grace and Rocky. It fumbles a bit with the pacing and some of the physical effects, but the beautiful visuals and the faithful adaptation of the source material make for a truly enjoyable ride. It's not my new favorite space movie, but up there and holds a very respectable spot on my list.

Rating:

Thumb down/10