Project Hail Mary review: Fantastic sci-fi sets bar for 2026 blockbusters
As a huge fan of Andy Weir‘s first novel The Martian and its 2015 film adaptation, I had high hopes for the movie adaptation of his third novel Project Hail Mary, especially with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at the helm. This movie easily surpassed all of my expectations – and then some!
The sci-fi opens with Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awakening from an induced coma onboard the Hail Mary spaceship. He can’t remember who he is or what happened, however, it is clear that his crew members are dead. As the only survivor, the science officer must learn how to become a pilot and an engineer and follow through with the mission – to save the Earth’s sun from dying.
Much like the novel, the main story is intercut with flashbacks to explain how a former molecular biologist and high school teacher like Grace ended up on the Hail Mary as an astronaut in the first place. He is recruited by Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller), who is putting together a task force to investigate the Petrova Line, a line of organisms dubbed “astrophage” that are dimming and killing off stars. They plot a space mission to Tau Ceti, a star unaffected by the astrophage, to find out why it’s not dying and if they can use that information to save Earth.
Project Hail Mary has a similar light-hearted tone to The Martian, which was also adapted for the screen by Drew Goddard. Despite the world-saving stakes of the mission, it is actually really funny and I laughed out loud a lot. Lord and Miller are masters of finding the comedy in any situation and they pull off a tricky tonal balance here. This film somehow manages to be hilarious, fun, moving and heartfelt. Even when the story gets more dramatic in the second half, they don’t forget to throw in a joke and allow us some comic relief.
The heart of the book and the film is Grace’s friendship with a spider-shaped rock alien from the planet Erid who has been sent to Tau Ceti for the same reason. Rather than being alone, Grace and Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz) decide to team up and pool their resources and knowledge. When we first meet Rocky, I didn’t think I would get invested in this odd-looking creature, but damn, I came to care about it so much! What a beautiful friendship! I adored watching them learning to communicate, to trust each other, to figure out the problem and (hilariously) navigate their friendship boundaries.
Gosling is the perfect man for Grace because he is so capable at both comedy and drama and toggling between the two within the same scene. As we know from Barbie, he has no issue with looking silly and nailing the physical comedy, but then he also brings the goods emotionally. He carries this movie – he is on his own for the vast majority of it and interacts with a puppet – and he is so damn likeable and captivating.
Project Hail Mary is a spectacular piece of cinema about the importance of friendship and connection. I laughed! I cried! Thanks to Greig Fraser‘s stunning cinematography, Daniel Pemberton’s beautiful score, Lord and Miller’s expert handling of the tone and Gosling’s endearing performance, this is the first great blockbuster of 2026. It really sets the benchmark for the rest of the year. I don’t hand out five stars often, especially this early in the year, but Project Hail Mary deserves it.
In cinemas from Thursday 19th March