As one great thespian once said, “Space, the final frontier…” So many great works of literature and film have tackled what lies outside of our own atmosphere. Whether it’s fantastic like Star Wars or the Dune series (more to come on that later in the year) or reality like Gravity, our collective amazement at the cosmos continues to fuel our imagination. Some of my personal favorites are 2001, Arrival, Interstellar, and The Martian, the latter of which has a connection to a feature in theaters now.
Project Hail Mary comes to us from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the minds behind The Lego Movie and the Into the Spiderverse franchise. Even though they are more known for their animated works, there is no reason to sleep on their live-action endeavors. The 21 Jump Street films are endlessly hilarious as is their television efforts like Clone High and The Afterparty. My best approximation of them is as a kinder, gentler version of the Russo Brothers; very much able to balance the action and drama with much needed humor. And they definitely bring their A-game here.
In preparation of seeing this, I rewatched The Martian (also from a novel by Andy Weir). So glad that I did because wow, does Weir really have a distinct voice. Both films are also translated to screen by Drew Goddard. He and Weir are very much able to make the most mundane observations seem quietly amusing. The matter-of-fact cadence of his characters put them in the pantheon of great “straight man” archetypes, beleaguered yet steadfast.
Here handsome everyman Ryan Gosling places Dr. Ryland Grace, biologist turned grade school teacher who is tasked to study why our sun is being depleted of energy. His hanging smile and warm eyes makes any performance immediately likable. It has been fun to watch him pivot from stoic work in Drive and Blue Valentine to winsome roles in La La Land and Barbie. Bespectacled and clad in a chunky cardigan, he is the epitome of a warm cup of hot cocoa; cozy and reliable when needed.
When Ryland wakes up in a spaceship, he has to piece together why he is there and what his purpose is. Through carefully sequenced flashbacks, we learn how he was recruited to solve this earth-harming situation. Weir’s plot revolved around many science fiction Macguffins, some you might say are rooted in factual possibilities but stretched to their farthest potential. Luckily the directors and cast are able to augment any plot contrivances with humor and a steady pace.
Happy to see Sandra Hüller here as Eva Strait, a shady government attaché who asks Grace to join the team. Her standout performance in Anatomy of a Fall showcased her ability to work within a space Lord and Miller are striving for here. Her scenes with Gosling are among the most moving of the film, included a karaoke one I won’t completely spoil here.
Much like in The Martian, Grace uploads video diaries about his progress as well as his encounter with another spaceship from where we don’t know. I will leave some surprises for those interested in still checking this one out. But Lord and Miller create some truly heartfelt moments I haven’t seen in the theaters since 80s or 90s era Steven Spielberg or George Lucas. One particular homage comes at the halfway point where taps on a surface mimic the tones John Williams made for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, another of my personal faves. Other instances reminded me of a YouTube video of NASA sounds from space, a collection of recordings of planetary movement rendered auditory. Like those, this film is music to my ears. A crowd pleaser in every sense of the word, we have been brought our first real blockbuster of the year.
