Project Hail Mary: Movie Review
There is nothing like going to the movie theater. The darkness, the big screen, and being surrounded by strangers but enjoying the same screen is almost intimate. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Project Hail Mary last weekend; the last movie I saw in theaters was Sinners over a year ago. I was on the schedule to work last Friday, and my parents were already planning to watch my son, but my work surprisingly called me off… so off to the movie I went! (After picking up some snacks at my favorite local shop Otaku Takeout of course. 😊)
I knew almost nothing about this film before going in, and I have to say, if I could describe it in one word, it would be “fun”. Now, I am not a science fiction kind of girl. The only science fiction movies I would say I really like are the Dune films (even the original David Lynch movie is entertaining in its own way), and even then, I would describe those more as Science Fantasy if anything. But this film was extremely well done, and I would attribute a large portion of that to the casting of Ryan Gosling.
He dominates probably 80% of the screentime of this movie and he does so masterfully, playing the serious scenes very well as well as balancing the humor of his character, Ryland Grace. Many other actors would appear cringey in the role I fear, but Gosling portrayed him well. His acting skill also shows in his ability to craft chemistry with his co-star Rocky, an alien that has little ability to emote or gesticulate (although when he he does, it is quite humorous). I also enjoyed how universal this movie is for movie-goers; even though it is PG-13, it is a very light PG-13 and I think a lot of kids could still enjoy this film immensely.
The main critique I would offer is that the last 1/3 of the movie is not quite as well-paced as the preceding 2/3 of the film. I felt that there were too many separations and reunions between Rocky and Ryland that I am sure is taken more slowly in the book. But it felt a bit rushed and emotionally repetitive to me so close to the end of the movie.
Overall, I would still give this film an 8/10- Will absolutely recommend. Catch it before it leaves theaters, definitely worth seeing on the big screen.
