This review contains spoilers for Project Hail Mary (2026).
In Project Hail Mary (2026), a middle-school teacher and an alien engineer made of stone team up to save their solar systems. Somehow, this movie makes for the most fulfilling blockbuster of the year. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street) reunite to adapt Andy Weir’s 2021 novel, and enlist Ryan Gosling for a career-highlight performance.
This spacefaring romp features cinematography that rivals Interstellar and a high-stakes, yet emotionally grounded, plot. It also has Rocky (James Ortiz), a playful alien from the planet Erid who shows off some of the most charismatic puppetry since The Muppets.
Disgraced scientist turned middle-school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awakens alone on a spaceship light-years away from Earth. He’s been launched into space against his will in the hopes of discovering a cure for astrophage, the cosmic parasite that is quickly consuming Earth’s sun. The story takes a dramatic turn when he encounters a new ally in the form of Rocky, an alien tasked with completing the same mission. The pair quickly form a relationship that is both heartfelt and hilarious.
Rocky and Grace’s camaraderie steals the show. Ryan Gosling’s dry humor plays perfectly with the curious and charming Rocky, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see their bond develop and how they help each other evolve. Grace feels alienated from people on Earth, and it’s ironic that Rocky, the alien, is the one to teach him about humanity, bravery, and friendship. A pivotal moment contrasts Grace’s isolation from humanity with the kinship he’s built with his new extraterrestrial friend, leading to an optimistic and thoughtful ending. Gosling balances vulnerability with sharp comedic timing, and this performance stands as a highlight in an already legendary modern career. Beyond its character beats, the film excels technically.
Under Lord and Miller’s direction, the cinematography makes the movie instantly iconic and visually appealing. Its impressive and colorful space imagery is reminiscent of Wall-E, Interstellar, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, yet feels unique enough to stand out among these inspirations. A sequence where Grace ventures out of the ship to collect a sample of astrophage shows off the film’s jaw-dropping colors and dazzling visual contrast. The moment is especially awe-inspiring in a theater, cementing Project Hail Mary as one of 2026’s must-see theater experiences.
Truly beautiful in every shot, light is a common visual motif in Project Hail Mary. The ship’s windows refract ribbons of color across Ryan Gosling’s face, stars shine in bright, defined pinpricks across the vastness of space, and the sun glints captivatingly off of helmets during spacewalks. This makes Project Hail Mary stand out against other 2026 films for its artistic merit and intention.
No blue or green screens were used in the filming of Project Hail Mary, with Lord and Miller favoring physical sets and practical lighting. This is a rarity in modern filmmaking, and the extra effort makes the film stand out as a love letter to modern sci-fi. In keeping with the practical filmmaking, Rocky is a physical puppet, giving Gosling another actor to quip with, deepening their on-screen relationship. Furthermore, motion is a well-implemented cinematic tool. To mimic the spaceship’s constant rotation for the purpose of creating gravity, the camera orbits around Gosling in pivotal scenes. Rather than being distracting, the camera’s almost-constant movement is used to mimic Grace and Rocky’s float through space in a very unique manner.
Fans of the book will be relieved to see how faithfully it’s been adapted, but the pacing naturally leaves some things to be less developed. The movie is two and a half hours long, but some elements still feel slightly rushed. Grace and Rocky learn to communicate a little too quickly onscreen, which undercuts the sense of difficulty and discovery that made these moments so compelling in the novel. In addition, it would have been interesting to see present-day Earth’s efforts in curbing the astrophage threat.
However, characters on Earth are still developed through flashbacks, like Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), the leader of Project Hail Mary. These flashbacks are a major element of the novel’s structure, as Grace slowly learns more about his mission after waking up with amnesia. Any adaptation struggles to scratch the surface of its source material, and Project Hail Mary does the best it can with what it’s been given. Even so, the pacing, which varies from slow and deliberate to stressful and rapid when needed, could feel off-putting for some viewers.
In a genre often dominated by spectacle, Project Hail Mary proves that heart and curiosity still matter most. The film feels like a buddy comedy, an emotional triumph, and an interstellar quest all at once, yet never loses focus on what makes the story special: the touching friendship between a lone spaceman and his alien best friend. The film offers excellent character moments, stellar cinematography, and a plot that can be appreciated by all audiences, regardless of familiarity with the source material. Despite minor pacing issues, the film is the rare example of a quality blockbuster independent from an existing franchise, so we give Project Hail Mary a rating of 9/10.
