Film Review: Project Hail Mary 末日聖母號 (2026) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
I rated it 8/10
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
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There are movies that entertain you, and then there are movies that remind you why stories matter—why a single spark of human curiosity, flung across the void, can feel like the most important thing in the universe. “Project Hail Mary,” the big-screen adaptation of Andy Weir’s bestselling novel, is one of the latter. It earns a solid: a rousing, intelligent crowd-pleaser that doesn’t always reach the novel’s deepest scientific grooves but more than compensates with heart, spectacle, and a profound sense of wonder.
Ryan Gosling gives one of his most engaging performances as Ryland Grace, a middle-school science teacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from home, amnesia clouding his mind and two corpses for company. Gosling plays the early scenes with a perfect mix of panic, dry wit, and quiet determination—the same everyman charm that made The Martian so endearing, but dialed up with genuine vulnerability. As fragments of memory return, we learn the stakes: a mysterious organism is devouring our Sun, and Grace is humanity’s last, desperate Hail Mary pass. The film’s structure, bouncing between the lonely present in deep space and flashbacks to the frantic international effort on Earth, keeps the momentum alive without ever feeling cheap.
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, working with cinematography that makes the vastness of space feel both intimate and awe-inspiring, handle the material with surprising grace. Their visual flair—colorful nebulae, intricate spaceship interiors, and a certain playful energy in the editing—prevents the story from becoming too clinical. The real revelation, though, is the friendship that develops midway through. Without spoiling the delightful details, let me say that the bond between Grace and his unexpected co-pilot is one of the most purely joyful interspecies relationships I’ve seen on screen. It’s funny, tender, and surprisingly moving. The creature design and vocal performance are triumphs; you believe in this partnership completely. ZWWAY“LARGE”
Where the film shines brightest is in its optimism. In an era of grim dystopias and cynical blockbusters, “Project Hail Mary” dares to suggest that intelligence, cooperation, and sheer stubborn hope can still save the day. It celebrates science not as cold equations but as a deeply human act of problem-solving and love—for our planet, for discovery, for one another. The set pieces are thrilling (especially in IMAX), the humor lands consistently, and the emotional payoff feels earned rather than manufactured.
That said, it’s not flawless. Devoted readers of Weir’s novel may miss some of the intricate scientific tangents and slower-burn problem-solving that made the book such a page-turner. A few supporting characters on Earth feel undercooked, and the middle act occasionally hurries through revelations that deserved more breathing room. Yet these are quibbles. Lord and Miller have made a faithful yet cinematic adaptation that respects the source while speaking its own language. Gosling carries the film on his shoulders with charisma to spare, and the final stretches deliver genuine catharsis.
“Project Hail Mary” is the kind of movie that leaves you walking out of the theater a little taller, a little more curious about the stars. It believes in humanity’s better angels at a time when we need that reminder. In the grand tradition of thoughtful science fiction that entertains as much as it inspires, this one is worth your time and your ticket. Highly recommended—especially on the biggest screen you can find. (Neo, 2026)