Film Reviews

Project Hail Mary the Movie

​Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! I give this movie a five out of five stars. 

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I absolutely loved the movie Project Hail Mary for it's ability to capture the super great book by Andy Weir. The movie capsulated every best part of the book and placed it in visual format under two hours. That takes a lot of work and talent. The casting for the film was stellar- but I am biast as Ryan Gosling is literally my other husband. (Sorry Eva) The movie takes place in a world where there is a certain foreign/alien species eating away the sun. It is projected that in a few 30 years the earth will lose it's light. I am not great at describing that but I would suggest looking into the plot or what it is about if you wish too. I read the book so I came into the movie with so many expectations and so much prior knowledge. I feel that if you read the book first, you hold so much genuine knowledge that the movie simply makes it easier for our brains to input what is missing. The acting was subpar.  Rocky was portrayed by James Ortiz and he did such an amazing job that you forget sometimes Rocky is a fictional character. He was so cute to see and watch his interactions with Grace. 

Stratt the one in charge of the mission to save the world and her relationship with Grace was portrayed better in the movie I feel than the book. The movie managed to make her more human and loveable. You can see the turmoil in her eyes and feel her pain as she has to make the tough decisions no one else can make. A book can describe that but to phsycisally see it is another reason why I love film. I felt emotions. I saw the emotions in front of me. 

Ryan Gosling as Rhyland Grace- I mean. Ray Porter the audiobook narrator was fantastic for the book reading of Project Hail Mary. It was hard to even imagine someone else as Rhyland Grace. But as soon as I saw Ryan Gosling dressed in glasses in front of his classroom, I no longer saw Gosling, I saw Grace. He was everything Rhyland Grace should be. Extremely smart, insecure at times, sarcastic, funny, and determined. Not to mention kind and compassionate. His relationship with Rocky was heartwarming and stole the entire movie. We watched as two species found common ground and learned from one another. Grace learning Eridean language and Rocky learning English. The cute ways he would say words was so adorable it makes you want to say the words too! "Fist my bump" and "Amaze!" felt so good to my ears because reading them was so fun but to actually hear them from the Rocky himself was pure cinema magic.  Ryan Gosling delivered a great performance even though the majority of the film he was alone. He had to act it all out on his own without a lot of other people around, besides Rocky. You felt his stress, you felt his fears, you felt his sadness, and you definently felt his joy. You watched a man who was lonely on earth, find his family in space. There is nothing more life changing than watching a human embrace the unknown and smile about it. 

As far as the astrophage and the battle against time? Well if you read the book you know the back story. You know how it all works, so you come into the film with a bit of a spoiler. You are fully skilled in all things physics right? Well in the movie you are not crammed with all the knowledge but in script form you are given enough to understand: Astrophage bad. That was more than enough for the movie as it provided the other parts of the film to be shared. Like how Rocky and Grace work together to save the stars, and how scary that could feel. If you are lucky enough to see the movie in Imax, you will feel the ground shake so to speak as Grace takes off into space to grab the samples he needs. You can't help but hold your breath when you realize things are not going as planned. 

Did the ending deliver? Yes ..in the sense that the movie gave closer. Absolutely it did. The ending was beautiful and left the viewer feeling the love. You could feel that you just witnessed something beyond space. An understanding that we have the capacity to love and love bigger than the galaxies if only we choose too.  I left with a smile on my face and a warm heart. If you have read the book than there are a few things different about the ending than what you have read, a few things are missing. But the most important parts of the ending remained. That is what matters most.

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My advice to the viewers? Take the time to read the book/audio book if you can. You will gain a huge appreciation for the film you may not have without it. It really helped me love the movie even more.

FInal words: Fist my bump! Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! Go see Project Hail Mary! <3