In today’s day and age, many new films are either sequels of previous high-grossing movies or live action remakes, devoid of any new concepts or inventive ideas. However, Project Hail Mary is anything but that, bringing a new perspective into the media’s current dull conversation.
With an immersive opening that puts viewers on the same unnerving footing as Ryland Grace—the star of Project Hail Mary, played by Ryan Gosling—the film allows growth towards the central plot twist in a natural, climatic way. Throughout the movie, Grace discovers his own memories and navigates around the unstable climate of the film, allowing viewers to grow with him. He goes through many conflicting emotions and ideals, making the impactful moments of the film hit so much harder.
Looking at Ryland Grace as a character, it would have been easy to make him a clear, unequivocally good hero with nothing but the salvation of earth on his mind. However, the juxtaposing approach that the filmmakers took creates a much more rounded and believable character, making him easily relatable. While he may not be the perfect man, his consistent attempts to do what he believes is right and his continuation of the mission to save mankind show that he is a morally righteous character. This also ensures that viewers still root for him despite his complex past choices.
Now, moving onto what many considered a spoiler in trailers and what truly made the movie: the introduction of “Rocky”, the helpful space alien who joins Grace on their mission to save both of their planets. Instead of falling into the archetype of aliens, which portrays them as either monsters or creatures with low intelligence, Rocky communicates with Grace as an equal. While the two’s ability to interact did feel a little rushed and unbelievable at times, their relationship was in all other ways quite beautiful.
In the vacuum of space, with only each other to rely on, Grace and Rocky’s bond is one of complete reliance and appreciation; they keep each other sane during their quests to save their worlds. This dynamic could have easily been limited to or completely ruined by Rocky’s exterior, as he does not have any of the visual cues to make the audience resonate with or appreciate him. As the name suggests, he is in all ways “rocky”, with no large eyes or human features that would trigger any emotion. This just goes to show how impactful Rocky’s acting and puppeteer work was—at several points in the movie, you will likely find yourself crying over nothing more than a bundle of minerals.
Finally, the overall feel-good themes that overshadow the downturned plot of the movie truly show an intentional and perfectly executed film. While the easy choice would have been to make this a physiological and dark thriller, the hopeful underlying message and the heartwarming moments in between bring light to the darkness, spreading a larger message outside of the film to find the good in the bad. Because, let’s face it, if Grace and a rocky alien are having fun millions of miles away from the only home they have ever known, what’s your excuse?
It is often hard to create an amazing work of art that is also just fun and enjoyable to watch, and the art of that has been lost in recent years. Project Hail Mary brings that back perfectly. With its success, I can only hope that a new era of unique films will follow in its footsteps, spreading similar positive messages throughout the globe.
