Movie Number 13 of 2026
The Movie: Project Hail Mary
The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens
Runtime: Two hours 36 minutes
Stars: 4
To read the book, or not read the book? That is the question. Whether it is nobler to see a film on spec, or to slug through a tome before seeing said movie. It is a universal question.
Blarney and I went to see the film this weekend. I've read the book (well, I listened to it as an audiobook - and it was excellent) Blarney hadn't. We both really liked the movie, however, having read Andy Weir's novel of one man saving the world from space, my views were a little more skewed.
Don't get me wrong - this is a very good film. But you're always going to get more out of the book.
Thankfully, the film follows the book closely and hits most of the major plot points. Not that movie goers really don't need to know that.
For a short synopsis, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle-school teacher with a PhD in molecular biology finds himself in deep space, alone, wondering how the hell he got there. Over time, he regains his wits and memory and goes about discovering how he's going to save the world. You see, the sun is dimming thanks to these alien microbes which are eating the sun. Other stars in the galaxy are also diminishing. Something has to be done. Over the two hours and 40 minutes of the film you see him discover alien life in the form of Rocky (the voice of James Ortiz) and the two work out to save both of their planets.
In the background, we're taken back to Grace's memories where the enigmatic Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller) runs the Project Hail Mary who press-gangs Grace into working on the project.
It's a simple story, very well executed. What's essentially a monologue for a lot of the film until Rocky's arrival brilliant viewing. Grace, and Rocky, have a lot to work out, from how to communicate, to how to survive in each other's atmospheres, to conflicting scientific beliefs. Somehow, they manage it.
This is where the book comes into its own. Through the book, you get more of an insight into how Grace and Rocky develop their communication, and the science, and the situation to hand. I remember listening to the book being on the edge of my seat wanting to know how these strange bedfellows were going to get out of their predicament. The movie glosses over a lot of this. An eight-episode series would have had the space to investigate everything in the book.
Yet, Project Hai Mary is a very good film. The set up, the cinematography, the animatronics in the way they created Rocky, the sets - they're all excellent. For a longer film, the time goes quickly. And don't be afraid of the science - it's adequately explained (where the book delves deeper into the concepts.)
What it missed for me was the depth of Grace and Rocky's relationship, which felt a bit rushed in the end. You don't get the gravitas of Rocky's predicament, having his large crew die around him and being stuck at Tau-Ceti for years alone. Nor do you feel Grace's final response when they realise that they've messed up and there are only two solutions - go home - or save your friend.
Also, I wasn't thrilled with the way they tried to intimate that Grace and Stratt had more than platonic feelings for each other.
Regardless, I really recommend seeing this on the big screen. Drew Goddard and Andy Weir's script is fast paced, funny and moving. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's direction keeps this feeling very real.
Project Hail Mary is best seen on the biggest screen you can find. It's great. (And if you haven't seen The Martian, look it up - same author, similar set up, just as good.)
But read the book. You'll get a lot more out of the experience.
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