By Tyler Lilly – Staff Reporter

“Project Hail Mary” is a science fiction film that was released in theaters on March 20. The movie is an adaptation of the 2021 novel of the same name by author Andy Weir, who also wrote “The Martian” novel that was adapted into a film of its own. 

The film follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle school science teacher who is tasked with finding a solution to the deadly astrophage, a single-celled species that consumes the energy of the Sun, causing it to dim and cool, which will result in a mass extinction from global cooling within 30 years. Grace is on the Hail Mary, sent to Tau Ceti, the only nearby solar system unaffected by astrophage, completely alone after all of the crew dies on the way there. Grace also has no way to return home, as the Hail Mary was built for a suicide mission, as there is only enough fuel to go to Tau Ceti and send back the findings on unmanned probes. Despite all of this, Grace finds that he might not be alone after all.

The movie, while being quite long at 156 minutes, is highly engaging throughout the entire runtime. The story flashes between the events leading up to the mission, giving more background and introducing new characters, and the current happenings on the Hail Mary. The balance between the two sides of the story is done very well, and the flashbacks feel very natural.

The thing “Project Hail Mary” truly excels at is special effects. There are some gorgeous shots in this movie. Many scenes use practical effects, and others use CGI. This movie should definitely be seen in theaters if possible, because it just won’t hit the same way on a smaller TV at home. 

The only downside of the movie adaptation is that some parts of the book are left out for time. For example, in the book, the government paves the Sahara Desert to breed astrophage to use as fuel for the Hail Mary, and nukes Antarctica to release methane into the atmosphere to slow down global cooling. But these are minor complaints that most moviegoers won’t notice. The pacing towards the end is a bit too fast, but that’s understandable given the movie’s very long runtime. 

Overall, “Project Hail Mary” is a phenomenal movie that is absolutely worth seeing in theaters. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars