The “space movie” genre can sometimes feel hackneyed. The familiar playbook—the anxieties over a dying Earth, the marvel of infinite space, the panicked math of space-time anomalies—has played out on camera in countless iterations. As the latest to join the lineup, Project Hail Mary (2026) faces the challenge of overcoming the trite tropes of its genre and standing out among the crowd. Fortunately for all, it succeeds.
Based on Andy Weir’s bestselling novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary seeks to reimagine what a space-armageddon movie can look like, emphasizing both the fragility and universality of human (or non-human) connection in a story that’s just as much about friendship as it is about a heroic space mission.
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the film oscillates between past and present as Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) pieces together his memories after waking up with amnesia. We learn that Grace used to be a science teacher, and his current mission is to stop the alien microorganism “Astrophage” from infecting the Sun and causing temperature changes that would place humanity at risk of extinction.
Grace finds unlikely companionship in a member of the Eridian alien race, Rocky (James Ortiz), whose home sun is afflicted by the same Astrophage. As he and Rocky learn to communicate and work together, Grace—despite his previous career as a teacher—becomes a student again, humbled by the sheer gravity of his undertaking. The pair creates memories and forges a strong friendship despite their differences, even discovering similarities in their senses of humor. This bond emphasizes the ultimate importance of their missions, and the filmmakers build sentimentality without using sappy cutaways to their lives back home, which are all too typical for space movies.
If there is a weak point, however, it lies in the characterization of Rocky. The alien is understood by Grace and the audience through a shoddy translation software that renders his lines into broken, simplified phrases like “Rocky fix,” “time go fishing,” and “amaze, amaze, amaze!” As such, the character occasionally reads less like a competent scientist and more like Grace’s loyal pet.
Gosling’s role is not without fault, either. Although his quips helped develop the humanity of the film, his comedy often felt juvenile and surface-level. Half the time, the jokes worked well, coming across as pleasantly silly, but the rest just felt clichéd, like the writers were attempting to fill a Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) -shaped hole in the industry that could have been left empty.
A high point of the movie occurs when Gosling finally recalls a devastating secret: it was never his choice to embark on his perilous journey. The death sentence was handed down by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), who found Dr. Grace to be the best candidate for the mission. Given the relevance of his previous research to the current phenomena, Stratt makes the call for Grace to join the mission, regardless of his willingness. As the audience and Dr. Grace discover Stratt’s involvement with the mission, Hüller’s performance as a ruthless bureaucrat tasked with saving the world is immaculate. All at once, she is cruel yet impossible to disagree with.
The scene in which Grace recollects his refusal of the mission is brilliantly placed, as both the audience and Grace become aware of his forced participation in the mission right before he ultimately saves the day. In this moment, the audience can see themselves in Grace. In the face of adversity, it can be the first instinct to doubt one’s abilities and avoid responsibility; however, with the right push, anyone can accomplish even the most unfeasible of Hail Marys.
Ultimately, Gosling’s performance as Grace is what makes the movie work. As the primary performer in just about every scene, he needed to get it right, which was no easy task. He spends much of the film either alone or simply with Rocky’s boulder-like, spidery form, which—with no disrespect to the talented practical effects team that helped bring Rocky to life—must have been a tricky scene partner to act against. But, with no crutches to lean on, Gosling delivers a performance built from the inside out. Breaking from the standard set by most other space-armageddon heroes, he does not perform as a stern and jaded astronaut. Instead, he tells the story through a full range of emotion: the laughter, tears, and concerned pragmatism all even out by the end of the story. And though the emotional beats are compelling, they’re used sparingly, so the tears feel earned and honest.
Still, the scenes that resonate most aren’t the sad ones but the moments of awe and wonder. When faced with the unfamiliar or the grandiose, Grace’s reaction feels recognizably human. Lord and Miller choose to narrow in on those moments, and with the help of a skillfully crafted score and soundtrack, they become some of the film’s most memorable scenes.
One of the film’s most striking sequences shows Grace spacewalking during an experiment with Rocky, surrounded by a sea of Astrophage, all bathed in vibrant red light. Despite standing among his planet’s killers, he is overcome by the beauty of the scene and pauses to breathe it in, simply telling Rocky, “I’m having a moment.”
Project Hail Mary is a human story told at an astronomical scale. Though it has its faults, namely a tired reliance on one-liner comedic relief, the film’s feel-good optimism and substantive moral dilemmas make it hard to turn away. It’s a movie with heart, compassion, and several killer needle drops—what’s not to love?
