Coming to Irish cinemas is Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi epic with Ryan Gosling at the helm, and he’s not alone in this grand adventure.
In Project Hail Mary, the world is ending, and the only way to save it is Ryan Gosling, of course. The film opens with Ryland Grace (Gosling) waking up from a medically induced coma. This poor man has woken up on a spaceship far from home, and worst of all, he has amnesia, a side effect of his coma. Throughout the course of the film, Grace has to pick up the pieces of his fragmented memory while also trying to save Earth. Thankfully, he’s got help in the shape of Rocky (James Ortiz), an alien who is also trying to save his homeworld.
Am I smart?
Project Hail Mary is an epic sci-fi with an intimate heart of gold. Similar to its spiritual successor, The Martian. It takes science and gives it a rye charm and wit personified within the inescapable orbit of Ryan Gosling. Grace is charming and affable, always cracking an off-kilter joke to diffuse the situation. The amnesia element is utilised well in the film to allow for the character’s eccentric mannerisms. The pressure is getting to him, thankfully, though this is when Rocky arrives to save the day.
Rocky is a phenomenal character in both design and execution, with a personality that will immediately endear him to you. Ortiz’s deadpan nature is the perfect partner to Grace’s unique foibles. These two rocketmen are 2026’s power couple and the heart of this film.
Rocky can fix it
On the technical aspect, Project Hail Mary is a feast for all the senses. From Rocky’s bizarre ship, built with interlocking shapes, to the vastness of space that Grace and Rocky traverse. It’s gorgeous to take in, especially if you’ve the chance to check it out on IMAX as I did.
The score by Daniel Pemberton is emotive and has a vastness to it that makes you feel in absolute awe. Pemberton brings the same level of intensity he did to his previous work in films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Steve Jobs.
What keeps Project Hail Mary from that perfect score for me personally is that it never feels as weighty as it should. Gosling takes everything too much on the chin with his particular brand of charm; the writing also keeps it a little too light and breezy. There is a particularly intense moment in the film, and the constant theme of brevity had become so pronounced that the audience laughed at it rather than seeing it for what it truly was: a moment of utter betrayal.
Ultimately, though, with the pairing of Rocky and Grace and a stunning universe for them to travel, I found myself utterly charmed by Project Hail Mary. Laughs and tears were had as two erds joined forces to save their homes.
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