When you think of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, I'd wager the first thing that comes to mind is the Spiderverse films. If you're a true "knower," as they say, you may also know them from 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street, but after this, that might change.
Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a former teacher who wakes up alone aboard a spacecraft with no memory of how he got there. As his memories slowly return, he discovers he’s on a desperate mission to save Earth from a mysterious cosmic threat that’s draining the sun’s energy. With time running out and no way home, Grace must rely on his scientific ingenuity, and an unexpected ally, to solve an impossible problem and give humanity a fighting chance.
TLDR; I liked it.
Since seeing the first trailer for this film, I was intrigued. Ryan Gosling is one of the more entertaining actors working today, in my opinion, and this movie further shows that. Ryan Gosling is to this film what Matt Damon is to The Martian. He's onscreen the entire time. Luckily, Gosling handles it as well, if not better, than Damon did in his Weir outing. Since The Nice Guys, his style of humor has just worked very well for me, and this movie is no exception. There is, however, a lot of that humor, and at times I found myself wishing things to be a bit more serious/toned down. It's my understanding that the book is very much like the movie in this regard, so it could just be a me thing.
You'd be forgiven for not knowing the remainder of the cast, even after watching it. Sandra Hüeller delivers a quite restrained performance all told. Often cold and closed off, there are multiple scenes hinting at such a deep character, and I think the film does well teasing us with it. We don't need to know why she's feeling this way, just that she is. When that emotion finally does manifest, even in the smallest forms, it feels even more legitimate.
Science fiction has a long standing tradition of providing us with breathtaking imagery and heart pounding scores, and Project Hail Mary is no exception. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller films have always been incredibly vibrant, and this film is their most breathtaking example of it. If there's ever a film that deserves to be watched on the big screen in 2026, it's this one.
Boasting an official runtime of 2 hours and 36 minutes, the film, at times, feels like it's coasting at light speed, but as it reaches the credits, the pacing begins to suffer. Remaining spoiler free, several decisions made during the film's final act contribute to the bloated feeling runtime.
Despite these issues, Project Hail Mary has continued to linger in my mind since leaving the theater, and that's almost always a good sign. There are several areas that leave me scratching my head, and the pacing really begins to suffer as the film drags, but that doesn't really matter. The message, the visuals, and the performances are all that do, and luckily for Project Hail Mary, this one is a game winner.
From Letterboxd: 3.5/5