Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary, 2026, 3 ½ stars

Space oddity

Sci-fi adventure/dramedy entertaining but uneven

Exclusive to MeierMovies, March 10, 2026

“You seem to find humor in everything,” Burt Johnson says to title character Arthur (in the classic comedy from 1981) after his future son-in-law cracks a joke about manslaughter.

The same might be said of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as the directorial team is known not just for visual spectacle and genre blending, but also finding the funny in unlikely places. Their latest film, Project Hail Mary, might be the best example, as the sci-fi-comedy-drama-action-adventure (say that five times) precariously balances big, smart ideas with light-hearted, zany sass, all while telling a story of potential apocalypse. The balance is frequently off, but this highwire act succeeds thanks to charming Ryan Gosling’s suitability for the material and Lord and Miller’s knack for tugging on your heart (and brain) strings at the right times.

Gosling plays Dr. Ryland Grace, a middle-school teacher who just happens to be one of the world’s foremost experts in molecular biology. He’s so smart that the government and other scientists seek his advice on answering the defining questions of this near-future: Why is an unexplained string of particles (dubbed the Petrova Line) sapping the energy of the Sun? And what can be done to prevent a catastrophic ice age on Earth in roughly 30 years?

Grace – in a religious metaphor, he’s almost always referred to by his last name – doesn’t think he’s up to the task, but his superiors disagree and force him on the mission, which will involve flying 12 light years away, to study a star that is apparently unaffected by similar particles. (Yes, travel at near-light speed is now possible.) This reluctance makes him a good candidate for movie hero, one we can relate to. But it, along with the character’s silliness, stretch believability. Add the complex science – which is often underexplained, glossed over or downright confusing – and you have the recipe for a fun but not altogether serious look at space travel. Still, if you dig the movie’s groove, appreciate the splendid if slightly frenetic IMAX photography, and embrace the practical puppetry that is used for some of the effects, it’s one Hail of a ride.

The film is Gosling everywhere, all the time, but that doesn’t stop acclaimed German actress Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), as the project director, from stealing scenes. Her dead seriousness nicely counteracts Gosling’s jokiness and rights the ship – pun intended – when the cinematic mission appears off-course. All other actors have tiny roles, but watch for an almost unrecognizable Milana Vayntrub (Lily from the AT&T television commercials) as one of the crew members.

Written by Drew Goddard, who penned The Martian, Cloverfield and World War Z, this film is less serious than all three. Tonally, it has just as much in common with two television shows for which Goddard wrote: Lost and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And though I have not read the 2021 Andy Weir novel upon which Project Hail Mary is based, I am told the film adaptation is fairly faithful.

Most science-fiction films try to be 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This flick borrows some elements from all three of those canonical sci-fi movies – including a brief musical tribute to the latter – while also adopting characteristics of Interstellar and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. But, ultimately, it is happier when it’s forging its own, weird path. As Grace says to his fellow crew member, “There’s no harm in pretending for a little while.”

I end with a Pauline Kaelesque digression: Heading home from the press screening, I encountered something even more apocalyptic than Project Hail Mary: a driverless Waymo. I found it scarier than the movie. Way mo scary. (See, I can make stupid jokes about serious things too.)

For more information on the movie, visit IMDB and Wikipedia. The film will open in cinemas in the United States on March 20 and on either March 18 or 19 in many other countries. If you see it in IMAX, which is recommended, keep in mind the aspect ratio will alternate between a boxier IMAX ratio and a wider one (for the footage not shot with IMAX cameras). It runs 2 hours and 36 minutes.

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