Can a middle school science teacher save the world? With Ryan Gosling as the teacher with more potential than it first appears, he just might. In the intelligent, highly-entertaining, often funny science fiction adventure epic PROJECT HAIL MARY, we set out to find out, with a perfectly-cast Ryan Gosling as the science teacher plucked out of his classroom to try to do something incredible to try to save the world. PROJECT HAIL MARY is a film that exceeds expectations of what it could be, with great performance by Ryan Gosling, in a top-notch, visually glorious adaptation of the best-selling novel by the author of “The Martian,” Andrew Weir.
Like the movie adaptation of “The Martian,” this tale is science-forward and a thrilling adventure tale with a good dose of humor, about an unlikely man who finds himself in space, tasked with saving the world by using his brain-power, creativity and scientific skills to figure out how to not only survive, but save the planet – and more. Humor is a bigger part of PROJECT HAIL MARY than in THE MARTIAN, with its quirky main character, but this is still a smart, science-filled adventure that also offers the same uplift as THE MARTIAN.
Reportedly, PROJECT HAIL MARY is largely faithful to the best-selling novel. The film is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the Oscar-winning team behind SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, and THE LEGO MOVIE. Besides the frequent use of humor, PROJECT HAIL MARY is an optimistic film, offering hope and inspiration, which is a refreshing change from the dystopian science fiction dramas more common now, and making it a call-back to some earlier classic science fiction. Ryan Gosling carries the film as almost a one-man show for most of the film, and does so brilliantly, with charm, humor and heart.
Humor is a bigger part of PROJECT HAIL MARY than THE MARTIAN, often laugh-out-loud funny, but Ryan Gosling’s biology teacher in space, like the stranding astronaut in that previous film, has to uses his knowledge to figure it out on his own. But it is not just his survival at stake but the whole planet – and more – as something is destroying – eating – the sun. An international team has come together to solve the problem before the sun dims too much to sustain life on Earth. They recruit teacher Dr. Rylance Grace (Ryan Gosling), a molecular biologist who was ostracized from the scientific community after publishing a paper with a shocking premise, to help figure out what is destroying the sun, as part of a “try everything” plan to save the Earth.
But we first meet Dr. Grace as he is waking up from an induced coma aboard a spaceship, light-years from Earth. Grace remembers who he is but little else – not where he is, how he got there, or why he’s there, due to the prolonged time spent in an unconscious state for the trip. As Grace comically stumbles around the ship, he starts to figure things and discovers he is the only crew member to survive the journey.
Ryan Gosling is perfect in this role as this smart but quirky, funny and self-deprecating reluctant astronaut. The memories start to come back as this lone scientist starts to figure things out, which allows the film to tell us the backstory in long flashback sequences, of what brought him to space and why, while Grace’s space adventure story in the film’s present moves forward. Like in THE MARTIAN, Gosling records himself in little messages to himself about what he is experiencing, videos that are both funny and helpful narrative.
While it is only Gosling on screen much of the time, he does get some help from a few co-stars. Sandra Huller plays the stone-faced leader of one of the international teams working on the threat to Earth, who recruits the reluctant Dr. Grace to help with the project.
When Huller’s Eva Stratt shows up at Grace’s school, Grace argues that he’s just a teacher, but she counters by pointing to his biology paper with a startling hypothesis about life on other planets. Grace has a PhD in molecular biology, not astrobiology (yes, that’s a real field) but Stratt wants him to give it a shot anyway. Huller plays this character with a deadpan style that is the perfect comic foil for Gosling’s more emotional, oddball, non-conformist Dr. Grace.
Of course, Eva Stratt’s team isn’t the only one working on this problem, as many other teams are trying to solve it from different angles, and presumably, another team is working on this with astrobiologists. After all, it’s called Project Hail Mary because finding the solution is such a long shot – but the alternative is to do nothing and just wait to die.
Throughout the Earth-based part of the film, before he finds himself in space, Gosling’s Dr. Grace is reluctant, due to lack of self-confidence or maybe just aversion to risk, although when backed into the proverbial corner, he shows remarkable resourcefulness. His ability to “figure things out” keeps him on the team as they move towards finding a solution. But once he wakes up in space alone, he has to overcome this innate reluctance because he only has himself.
Gosling’s other major co-star is a space alien he meets when he encounters another spaceship. also with a sole occupant, sent from a different planet with a similar mission. This is no spoiler, as the alien is in the movie’s trailer, and the character is a major par of the story. The alien, which Grace dubs Rocky, is played by a puppet that looks like a rock with legs, winningly operated and voiced by puppeteer James Ortiz. Rocky is enthusiastic and energetic, and his comic bits have Gosling playing the foil, as the two, scientist and engineer, “figure things out” (a repeated phrase in this film).
Yes, the film has a little fun with the title, with Gosling’s Grace aboard a spaceship he calls Mary, but this is a smart if playful film. PROJECT HAIL MARY gets most of the science right and also delivers it in an accessible, engaging way. The most hard-to-believe part is that the world would come together to solve this problem, something that hasn’t happened since nations and businesses worked together to fix and ozone hole, and with current anti-science attitudes and lack of international cooperation generally, seems exceedingly unlikely now.
Visually, the film is marvelous. It shifts between close-in personal sequences, often laced with humor, as the scientists work, and gripping, exciting adventure sequences, moments of danger and tension, often in space. The film is visually astounding, shot for IMAX and with some 70mm versions out there too, so it is well worth seeing on an IMAX screen for sheer enjoyment.
Despite it’s two and a half hour running time, PROJECT HAIL MARY does not feel long, due to its level of excitement and engaging storytelling, but this is clearly an epic story.
All in all, PROJECT HAIL MARY is a smart, entertaining, not-to-miss science fiction adventure film, with a fabulous performance by Ryan Gosling, a wonderful story, and terrific big-screen visual effects. It is something to see on the biggest possible screen, and it is a film that holds up as entertainment through multiple viewings, while inspiring with a hopeful message that we can use our brains to figure it out.
PROJECT HAIL MARY opens nationally in theaters on Friday, Mar. 20, 2026.
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
