Lord & Miller. Phil and Chris. You know them, you love them. They have been behind some of the last decade’s genre-defining movies, namely the Spider-Verse trilogy, but their work often shines brightest when paired with equally talented creatives. Most of all, they know how to tell stories that appeal to the masses and avoid alienating some from what may have otherwise been outside their comfort zone. So while Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi epic at its core, with Greig Fraser doing the heavy-lifting to make it visually so, it remains one of modern cinema’s most upbeat stories about why humanity feels compelled to save itself from extinction as often as it seeks the opposite.
Much of what makes up the high-stakes adventure comes from the synergy between Lord & Miller, Fraser, and Ryan Gosling. Each carries the movie in their own ways — Lord & Miller in their vision, Fraser in his execution, and Gosling in his performance. All four understood the underlying message of the story, and the novel it is based on, and made that the natural sticking point that audiences will remember the movie for. In fact, Project Hail Mary feels like a culmination of all they have done in the industry, blending notes of drama, sci-fi, and comedy into a blissful symphony of sights and sounds. Because even when the pacing slows and its wit overstays its welcome, the film is a visual delight that enhances the story it tells through space, time, and the distinction between reality and memory. It feels rare these days to receive a film from those who simply love to express their admiration for an art form and have fun with it, and even rarer for those kinds of movies to resonate with such a largely captivated audience. Yet, that’s precisely what they achieve.
Outside of this fantastic quartet, the supporting cast and crew pull their own weight. They amplify the story’s wit and humor, they underline the audience’s belief in the Hail Mary, and deliver an underdog story for the ages. Of the cast itself, Rocky and Eva are the cornerstones of Grace’s character arc. They provide him with an opportunity to be himself while showcasing how he is more than qualified to accompany them on their mission to save planets from decimation. Yet, they seamlessly enact and release dramatic and emotional tension when the narrative needs it most. It anchors Grace’s witty, humble personality and forces him into situations he seldom finds comforting or befitting of his reputation. But they all work to get the audience to root not only for their mission but for Grace himself, which often forms whenever a character is uniquely themselves and cannot help but shed some positivity — either as a coping mechanism or as a core part of their personality.
Ultimately, Grace is the star of the show. Gosling always had a knack for dramatic or comedic roles, but rarely does both at once. Project Hail Mary is the movie that provides him with the role he feels destined for. His charm, wit, and emotion emanate in every second he is on screen, and it’s satisfying to see the control and balance he maintains between them. This comes in handy with a character like Grace, who stands out from the crowd in more ways than one. He’s smart, but never admits to his ingenuity. He’s witty, but only to compensate for his lack of confidence in himself. He’s charming, but only to help others be themselves and enjoy his company. His personality and struggles never feel out of place because it embodies the human experience and what we love about each other.
Humans are capable of a great many things, but cynicism, grief, or pain often overshadow our best and most heartwarming aspects. It’s hard to feel good when the world feels anything but, yet there will always be people like Eva, Rocky, and Grace who take life by the chokehold and make the most of it. They all want to live, which is what makes the story’s core conflict so resonant and damaging. Facing extinction will never be an easy thing to overcome, but all it takes is for one person who puts the “not” in astronaut to put the “ordinary” in extraordinary. That’s what Grace does in this movie, and that’s what makes him and the Hail Mary so simple to root for.
At the end of the day, Project Hail Mary is a perfectly human movie. It’s optimistic, witty, supportive, and wholesome in its highs and downright tragic and woeful in its lows. The goal is to balance those elements through relatability and charm, both in its story and in life. The runtime will likely be the film’s loose cannon, as some sequences play out a little longer than they should, and at times limit a more justified sense of urgency to Grace’s mission and journey. Yet, the sights and sounds of the far-reaching universe echo the movie’s mission to function like a well-oiled machine, embodying everything there is to know about humanity and what moves us to reach for slim possibilities. Sometimes, we need a movie that makes you laugh one moment and cry the next, and the film has it in a colorful array of spades. Most of all, it’s cathartic, nerdy, and heartwarming at exactly the right moments in its runtime and in modern times. Making science, togetherness, and optimism cool again is just a bonus.
Photo credits: Amazon MGM Studios, Pascal Pictures
© Creative Insight 2024
