Project Hail Mary film review: Gloriously silly sci-fi
A fresh odd couple affair with nods to many predecessors while carving out its own special place in the pantheon
Ryan Gosling gets his lost in space moment and, boy, does he make the most of it in this adorable sci-fi comedy from directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie). Based on the Andy Weir novel and scripted by Drew Goddard (who also adapted Weir’s The Martian), Project Hail Mary combines irreverent indie wit and sensitivity with barnstorming blockbuster shenanigans.
A dishevelled and disorientated Dr Ryland Grace (Gosling) awakens in space, the sole survivor of a mission, with no recollection of how he got there or what he needs to do now. Flashbacks reveal a threat to the sun which jeopardises life on Earth, and Grace’s recruitment by Sandra Hüller’s formidable Eva, head of the eponymous project. Later, Grace encounters an extraterrestrial craft, and bonds with the alien aboard it, who he dubs Rocky. Together, they attempt to fix things.
In some ways this is the silliest space flick since Armageddon, although the humour is entirely intentional and it’s paired with earnestness as this oddest of odd couples forge a friendship. Project Hail Mary is shamelessly indebted to that which has gone before (everything from Close Encounters, ET, Silent Running and Short Circuit) with nods to the Rocky franchise and the directors’ own Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. Yet the film is so endearing and well-executed in its own right that it transcends this nostalgia to take its rightful place amongst such staples, while throwing in all the razzamatazz of modern movie-making.
Goddard’s script is phenomenally funny and to say no one could have pulled this off better than Gosling is a huge understatement, with his perma-bemused, self-deprecating schtick making even the most absurd moments fly. Meanwhile, the estimable Hüller brings dramatic clout and credibility to the premise, and fans of Toni Erdmann will be thrilled to see her tackle another karaoke number. Project Hail Mary is certainly on the long side, unfolding at a leisurely, albeit entirely absorbing pace. Perhaps there’s one moment of jeopardy too many, but such quibbles feel churlish when aimed at a film so stratospherically charming.
Project Hail Mary is in cinemas from Thursday 19 March.