“Project Hail Mary” is a highly renowned book not only because of the vast popularity of Andy Weir, but because of how people connect with the story and its themes. Because of this, a film adaptation would have a lot to live up to. Even though films like The Martian proved that Weir’s stories adapt easily to the big screen, the ability to please fans of the original source material as well as bring in a new audience is a daunting task. Luckily, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and writer Drew Goddard proved to be the right ones to take on the project, with what will likely be one of the biggest movies of 2026.

Project Hail Mary follows Ryan Gosling as astronaut Dr. Ryland Grace, who awakens in a spaceship with no recollection of who he is or what his mission is. Stranded on the aircraft by his lonesome, he slowly learns of his past while using his scientific knowledge to survive and figure out what he’s doing on the ship.

A good portion of the film sees Ryland on his own, with Gosling having to carry the film solely on his wit and natural charm. Luckily for Gosling, it doesn’t matter if he’s by himself or in a crowd of people, he can make any sequence entertaining with just his physical presence alone. The way he brings humor into his dire situation not only builds his character, but creates an element of entertainment that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Ryland is solely a jokey character, and Gosling is able to balance humor with the character’s sharp intelligence with ease. For a guy who was previously known as the hot significant other in romance films, it is beyond impressive how much Gosling is able to sell his character as a brilliant scientist. 

Recent blockbusters have failed to deliver compelling visual effects, but Project Hail Mary stands out as a major outlier. Whether it’s the reported absence of blue screen, or the masterful visual effects designers brought on for the film, the visuals are impressive in every frame. What is equally impressive is how the film integrates practical sets within the visual effects. The Hail Mary spaceship looks stunning, and the fact that Gosling was able to physically interact with the ship made for a far more tangible and effective experience, rather than making the ship solely from visual effects. Currently standing as Amazon MGM’s most expensive film of all time, the studio couldn’t have put their money to better use.

Despite taking place mostly within the confines of a spaceship, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller somehow bring an epic sense of scale to the film. With Ryland being stranded on the ship, Lord and Miller’s direction do an excellent job of allowing the viewer to feel the weight of the situation. The cinematography also contributes heavily to the film’s tension, with cinematographer Greg Fraiser using close-up shots whenever the characters are inside the spaceship and wide shots whenever characters are floating in space. These shots crafted by Fraiser expertly portray the confinement of space and the grand scale of the mission.

With all the stellar craftsmanship going on throughout Project Hail Mary, the strongest aspect manages to be the relationship between Ryland and new alien friend, Rocky. Created using practical puppeteering work done by Neal Scanlan, Rocky is brought to life in one of the most impressive ways seen since the creatures in the original Star Wars films, and his chemistry with Gosling will remain as one of the best duos of the year. Whether Rocky and Ryland are sitting and talking about life or working on their world-ending mission, the two ooze charisma in every frame, which allows for the heavy emotional climax to hit even harder. Ryan Gosling proved in the earlier parts of the film that he could handle carrying the weight of a film on his shoulders, but once Rocky enters the film, it is impossible to want anything else from the movie.

The film attempts to tell a tale of mortality and purpose, with Ryland spending most of the film understanding why he decided to go on the mission and if this was the correct decision. While these points hit especially hard in the end, with an incredibly satisfying payoff in the final scene, Project Hail Mary needed more sequences of Ryland grappling with his situation. Although the film excelled in delivering humor and spectacle, slightly more attention to the drama of the protagonist would’ve pushed the film to bigger emotional heights. Not to say that the film didn’t have its fair share of emotion, but it could’ve easily done with a few extra scenes.

Filled with heart, humor, and enough spectacle to justify its IMAX release, Project Hail Mary delivers the cinematic goods, transitioning from book to the big screen to a near-perfect degree. Showcasing yet another example of Ryan Gosling’s acting prowess, this is the perfect blockbuster that blends old-school and modern filmmaking techniques in a stellar manner. If there’s one way to describe the film, it would be *pun-intended* out of this world.

Project Hail Mary will be released in theaters nationwide on March 20.

OSCAR POTENTIAL:

• The film has all the ingredients of the big-budget film to sneak into the awards conversation. It is easy to parallel the awards success of The Martian with Project Hail Mary, as they are not only both adapted from the same author, but are written by the same screenwriter. Unless the film becomes a box office failure or the competition is extremely stiff by the end of the year, it is easy to see the film crack the field for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, and nearly every technical category.