I love it when the hype is real.
Ever since Project Hail Mary was released, I’ve heard nothing but good things, so naturally I was curious. Plus, I’m on a serious outer space kick these days, in both my current viewing habits and the next piece of short fiction I’m currently piecing together in the background. It also helped that I’m a big fan of author Andy Weir’s first book The Martian and the excellent film-adaptation by Ridley Scott in 2015, so when I heard that this was another Big Screen, Big Budget take on another of Weir’s works, I was intrigued. Just not enough to haul myself to our small local cinema to catch when it released a few months back, but enough to keep an eye on it’s Home Video release. And through the wonders of online shopping, I soon enough had a copy in my grubby lil mitts.
Project Hail Mary takes place in a near future where it’s discovered that light from our Sun has begun dimming and no one knows why. It’s discovered that a mysterious organic substance is devouring the Sun’s radiation, thus reducing the much-needed light and heat that Earth requires to survive.
A mission is planned and due to a paper he once wrote, slobby science teacher ‘Ryland Grace’ (Ryan Gosling) reluctantly finds himself thrust into the middle of this likely one-way-trip to find answers to help save our planet. A 2001-like accident occurs along the way and ‘Grace’s two other companions perish en route, leaving him and the ship to carry on with the mission. While on final approach to the Sun, ‘Grace’ discovers that he and his craft are not the only ones out there and soon, after many a trial and tribulation, he teams up with a new form of life; a sentient rock creature who he predictably names ‘Rocky’. Together they dive into trying to solve the perilous situation that threatens both of their worlds.
So, on a quiet Sunday morning just prior to sun-up, Project Hail Mary was slipped into the ole region-free, strong coffee was brewed, and the trusty pad n pen combo made an appearance.
PLAY
Scribbles were unleashed…
-Amusing cryo-sleep awakening. Prob realistic. I’ve long held that the sci-fi concept of cryo-sleep for long space journeys is A) very convenient, from a science fiction story-telling perspective and B) impossible in Real Life.
Some films, like my absolute favourite Aliens (1986) depict characters leisurely splayed out in their Snow White-like glass tubes, only requiring a cup of coffee and a shower to rouse them. I call utter bullshit…and I LOVE that flick (and many others in that long-running franchise). The idea of suspended animation for humans, even for a sometimes-dense fella like me, is incredibly far-fetched and IF it was a real thing, it would likely be one of the most intrusive and debilitating medical activities the human form could endure. With Mary, it would seem that directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (21 Jump Street) felt similar and opted to depict ‘Grace’s emergence from his induced coma / cryo-sleep as a painful, awkward, and scary experience.
I approved.
-Gosling solid in his comedic sensibilities and timing. By now, this is well known about one of Canada’s most well-known exports.
-Entertaining mix of music types – score vs tracks, poppy vs ethereal. It worked well.
-What are these jets? US Navy Jaguars? Don’t think so! For a dude who hates to fly, I sure do love me some cool military aircraft, and that fascination goes back to me in my single digits. Here, we see ‘Grace’ being strapped into a US Navy jet fighter…that is in no way a real US Navy jet fighter.
At first, given the squared intakes and the over-body wing configuration, I initially thought that I was seeing an old school (and very cool) SEPECAT Jaguar, a European ground attack fighter that was retired a couple decades ago from virtually all air forces that flew it. A little extra research revealed that what is seen onscreen is most likely the Panavia Tornada, another fearsome European fighter jet that the Royal Air Force just recently moth-balled (which is a friggin shame, as that thing was a beast), only done up in US Navy livery. This made it pretty obvious that, at least, certain sequences were likely filmed in the UK (as of this writing, haven’t looked it up). But for anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of military aircraft, it’s pretty obvious that something’s just not quite right.
-The humour is sharp, clever and sarcastic. Just my kind. This is an area where writer / directors Miller and Lord excel, as seen in many of their previous titles, and here was no different.
-Space that shit, homie! Having the corpses of your former ship-mates ripening away is not something you want in your living space so yea…send them out into the Big Black! ASAP!
-Connecting themes to The Martian – Man Alone. Yep.
-The Gosling Shriek! As first heard in the criminally under-rated The Nice Guys (2016), he gets to unleash the same high-pitched wail here…and it was funny. Again.
-Outer space shots awesome. Miller and Lord clearly had a healthy budget from Amazon Studios to work with and it shows in the awe-inspiring space shots, which are agreeably plentiful. As a space / science fiction nerd…I love that shit!
-Hilarious space chase. What starts off feeling sinister as hell…quickly degenerates into a highly amusing pursuit, with ‘Grace’, who has yet to master piloting, throwing himself all over space try to evade the massive pokey-looking thing that just…won’t…stop…following! Deep space, situational humour. I literally laughed out loud.
-Love the zero-G hijinks. Fun with physics!! And from what I understand, a couple small scientific gaffes aside, it’s mostly accurate in how things operate in deep zero-G.
-Quick pace viewer friendly. This one, in spite of the 2 hour 35 minute run-time, trots along at a very nice pace.
-Love the early communication. The toss. The simplicity of this sequence, in conjunction with the beauty of the shots, had me nerding the fuck out, with ‘Grace’ and the strange alien ship initially communicating with a ‘message-in-a-bottle’ method of simply tossing written messages across the open space between the two vessels. The ‘chef’s kiss’ is the final time they need to do it…the suspense!…the build-up!…then…that. Loved it.
-Gosling had fun. Ryan Gosling is easy to dismiss as just another pretty-boy Hollywood staple but the truth is, is that he’s a genuine talent with an effortlessly dead-pan sense of humour bolstered by actual acting chops and an impressive resume. One thing I’ve noticed is that he seems to be having fun with the roles he takes on (definitely see The Nice Guys) and here was no different.
Also…he’s one of Us – a Canadian. Which automatically makes him awesome anyway (*see also Ryan Reynolds).
-Once in a while, a non-violent alien encounter is cool. Nice even. As any semi-regular reader of my drivel can attest (thank you!), I love me some solid extra-terrestrial-based carnage, be it in the legendary Alien franchise or elsewhere, but every once in a while, especially when I take stock of the absolute bullshit state of our world, something nice is…well…something nice. Project Hail Mary definitely rides on the same border-line saccharine Amblin Entertainment E.T. The Extra-terrestrial vibe that made that classic so endearing, in the heart-warming depiction of two differing species coming together in the spirit of friendship and understanding (concepts OUR species shamefully seems to have a hard time understanding), not wanton blood-letting (as unapologetically awesome as that can be). So, for those of you looking for a ‘downer’…*SPOILER*… this is not the title for you.
–Close Encounters! If you know Spielberg’s classic 1977 alien visitation flick Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you’ll understand a certain musical element that cheekily finds it’s way into Project Hail Mary.
–Communication trouble-shooting, ala The Martian. Andy Weir definitely has a thing for ‘communication’, as we’re again treated to the detailed workings of characters striving to establish understanding and connection, whether it be Matt Damon’s ‘Mark Whatney’ trying to reach NASA in The Martian or Ryan Gosling’s ‘Ryland Grace’ trying to forge a communication method with a completely alien creature. Both examples were fascinating and, at times, straight-up amusing.
-Music during the ‘Rocky’ intro montage wonderfully whimsical. Not quite John Williams-whimsical, but definitely its own, charming flavour.
–Alien shout-out! The pop-culture references continue! Of this one…I approve.
-‘Rocky’s sonar vision POV cool. Interesting concept depicted in a really cool and logical way. The hits just keep on coming!
-Meryl Streep shout-out! There’s a hilarious ‘crafting an interface’ scene where a digital voice is needed and one that come up is the ‘Meryl Streep’ voice…and yes folks, it really is Meryl Streep. *crowd goes wild*
-Fun montages. There are, in fact, fun montages in this here motion picture.
-‘Rocky’s a true bud. The little rock dude comes in clutch (as the whippersnappers say), saving the day and managing to do it conveying emotion and character.
-Crazy space walk! Physics, what can I say.
-Good use of silence. Space is kinda quiet, so seeing / hearing it depicted as such is always nice, despite how cool sci-fi engines and explosions always are, as bullshit as they are.
-Feeling shades of E.T. and Cast Away. I love 1982’s E.T. The Extra-terrestrial (who doesn’t!) and 2000’s Cast Away (a long-time personal favourite), two films about lost souls trying to find their way home and the sentimental introspection that comes with the challenge. Both films really deliver on the ‘feels’ and it’s safe to say that Project Hail Mary can effectively ‘rub shoulders’ with both of those cinematic gems in that regard.
-OK, COULD’ve ended there. Now, had they cut right here…yes, the ending would’ve been a little more bleak than the lead up might’ve suggested (reminded me of Danny Boyle’s excellent and similarly themed 2007 entry Sunshine, so if you know…you know.)
-But actual ending admittedly sweet. It’s a good one and tonally spot-on. *applauds appreciatively*
All in all, I REALLY enjoyed Project Hail Mary and I can easily see myself throwing it on again sometime in the near future, if for no other reason than to catch all the little details I may have missed on my first viewing.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I love it when the hype is real and deserved, and thankfully in this case, it is.
I think one of the key things that made this title resonate with audiences on initial release is the fact that, ultimately, it’s a story to feel good about at a time when there’s VERY little going on in our overall world to feel good about.
These days, aliens on our screens all seem to come with some degree of fear or horror, which is perfectly fair and normally, I’m all over it.
Here, it was a little different, in that the ‘alien’ element was handled from a standpoint of companionship and caring, and I really appreciated that fresher approach.
From a cast standpoint, this is Ryan Gosling’s show through and through, and I thought he knocked it out of the park with his signature awkwardness and physicality, not to mention his near-impeccable comedic timing.
From an effects position, I had no complaints and thought virtually all the CG-heavy outer space sequences were handled brilliantly.
The eclectic mix of music types also helped to bolster the emotional core of the film and I’d be surprised if anyone else out there took umbrage with the choices on display here.
I’m going to be honest here and say that, a couple teeny production details aside (those damn jet fighters!), I have no gripes with this film…and that’s saying something. I was even cool with the near complete lack of swearing…because it did not need to be there to tell the family-friendly story being told. That level of narrative restraint is appreciated and only added to the flick’s appeal.
Even though Project Hail Mary is definitely science fiction, I can easily recommend it to almost anybody, and do. It’s a clever, amusing, heart-warming sci-fi spectacle and truth be told…we need more of those.
Definitely check it out.
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