BELIEVE IN THE HAIL MARY.

In the spring of 2026, this movie was a shot in the arm to anyone looking for a great reason to go to the movies and have a great visual experience. But it’s not for everyone. I saw a clip on TikTok featuring the lovable Mandy Patinkin and his wife Kathryn. Their son had filmed their reactions to the movie and then edited them together. I think the contrast is likely true to how many people feel. Mandy was effusively enthusiastic, while Kathryn thought it was an OK film for kids. A lot of it might have to do with how much you care about space.

The sole survivor
In the near future, scientist Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship and slowly realizes that he’s far from Earth and also the sole survivor; a pilot and a physician who were also part of the mission are dead. There’s a reason why Ryland feels so disoriented and through flashbacks we learn what happened on Earth. It had been discovered that the Sun was dimming because of an infrared line that emerged between it and Venus; scientists figured out that the phenomenon would within a few decades cause a catastrophic cooling of the Earth.

Using astrophage, the microorganisms that will ultimately doom Earth, as an energy source, a mission was put together to send a group of astronauts on a suicide mission to Tau Ceti, a nearby star that isn’t dimming yet.

First there was The Martian
We’ve been down this road before. In 2015, Andy Weir’s novel ”The Martian” was made into a movie directed by Ridley Scott that found a way to deliver visual treats and excitement, but also taught us stuff about space and physics without putting us to sleep. There was a lone man whom we rooted for as he searched for ways to survive; much of the film was carried by a star in the lead, Matt Damon. Fast-forward 11 years and there’s Project Hail Mary, another adaptation of a novel by Weir that accomplishes pretty much the same things as The Martian, once again propelled by the performance of a likable guy in the lead, Ryan Gosling. There’s no Ridley Scott in the director’s chair, but Drew Goddard wrote both movies and has found a tremendously effective formula.

A huge gamble in the movie, but it works because of the emotions that Drew Goddard and the directors build.

Part of the appeal is the fact that much of the science here is rooted in facts, including the physics and chemistry that Ryland learns to use to his advantage. That’s not to say that Weir’s playfulness goes missing – after all, this is a movie by the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs directors. Don’t expect a straightforward, solemn journey into outer space with these guys. For many people, the greatest challenge will be to accept what happens when Ryland meets an alien. It’s not a monstrous xenomorph. It’s not an E.T. with huge puppy eyes. It’s a living rock with no face whom Ryland names Rocky. This is a huge gamble in the movie, but it works because of the emotions that Goddard and the directors build, combined with disarmingly corny jokes and the puppeteering, which relies both on James Ortiz’s on-set work with the puppet and his voice.

We also care about Rocky and his budding relationship with Ryland because of Gosling’s performance; this is the type of film where you need the charisma of a beloved star in the lead, and he delivers. The script movingly touches on Ryland’s loneliness, and also provides Sandra Hüller with a great part, as the determined and calculating head of the international agency behind Project Hail Mary.

Thrilling and funny, the film also has impressive action, including a hair-raising sequence where Ryland and Rocky gather astrophage from the atmosphere of a planet. Daniel Pemberton’s glorious music score is icing on the cake.

Project Hail Mary 2026-U.S. 156 min. Color. Directed by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller. Screenplay: Drew Goddard. Novel: Andy Weir. Cinematography: Greig Fraser. Music: Daniel Pemberton. Production Design: Charles Wood. Cast: Ryan Gosling (Ryland Grace), Sandra Hüller (Eva Stratt), James Ortiz (Rocky), Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub. Voice of Meryl Streep.

Trivia: Co-produced by the directors and Gosling. 

Last word: “Each one of [the puppets], we made it different. ‘This is the grouchy one. This one is really open. This one is skeptical.’ They’d have different personalities and we figured, if we get the right movement, it will be expressive. If he’s expressive, we’ll just fall in love with him. There was a day we went to the creature shop and Neal [Scanlan] showed us a few different clay sculpts of Rocky. And there was just one we kept coming back to and there was just something about him … I like that guy.” (Lord on finding the right Rocky, Indiewire)