It’s funny to be writing this right after CinemaCon 2026 (essentially a tradeshow for the movie industry that brings together theater owners, studios, and equipment vendors to showcase upcoming films, discuss industry trends, and debut new technology) because I first heard about Project Hail Mary after CinemaCon 2025. One year ago, Amazon MGM Studios shared a first look at this film at the convention and the hype was immediately high. So I’ve been excited for this movie for about a year now. That meant it had a lot to live up to. And it pretty much delivered on everything I was hoping it would be: a feel good, crowd-pleasing, immersive, old-school blockbuster. Project Hail Mary has something for everyone, so no wonder it’s one of the most successful movies of the year so far.

The film comes from directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie) making their first feature in 12 years. It’s adapted from the 2021 novel of the same name by Andy Weir with a screenplay by Drew Goddard, the same author and screenwriter duo behind 2015’s The Martian. The story follows Ryland Grace, an elementary school teacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there. As the memories start to come back to him, he realizes he was sent on a mission to save Earth from an alien organism threatening to kill the sun and plunge the planet into a devastating ice age. I read the book before seeing the movie and really liked it but it was a smidge too science-heavy for me (a 4 out of 5 star rating on Goodreads for that reason). The film is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book, but they do cut down on the science. However, for a major mainstream movie, there’s still a lot of complicated information involved that the movie doesn’t really slow down to explain. In a good way. Too many movies these days assume audiences aren’t paying attention and need everything clearly spelled out for them. Let people use their brains, let them feel smart! I did wonder if the film would be confusing for those who haven’t read the book. But, to me, that has to do more with the story than the science. I don’t think it’s as clear in the film that the flashbacks to the moments that lead up to Ryland’s arrival on that spaceship happen as he’s remembering them in real time and they are influencing his mindset in the present on the ship. His last memory, in particular, of his final moments before the launch are especially consequential; he spends much of the movie thinking he’s a hero, or at least has the capacity to be, until this flashback completely undercuts that. This detail doesn’t affect the movie so significantly, but I do think it could’ve been communicated more clearly in the film. The one downside to such a faithful adaptation of the book is that the book is over 500 pages. Meaning the movie clocks in at over 2 and half hours. Definitely too long. I have my thoughts on what parts of the ending could’ve been cut (the same parts I didn’t love in the book).

What makes Project Hail Mary so universally appealing is its tone: part comedy, part sentimental, all feel-good. Andy Weir’s writing is inherently humorous but the movie takes the comedy up a notch (helped tremendously by star Ryan Gosling’s natural wit). The entire theater was laughing and loving it. But within the humor is real sincerity and depth. Ryland’s alien companion, Rocky, is so pure and cute and their relationship throughout the film hits on poignant themes of loneliness and companionship. Some have lamented it leans too far into the sentimental to an overly sweet degree but, unfortunately, a cute little creature will always work on me. The end result is a true crowd pleaser. My theater clapped when the movie ended. Project Hail Mary provides an idealistic vision of a world where people work together to solve a problem in a time when our reality could not reflect that less. Every character is just trying to do the right thing and there is no real “bad guy”. People want escape and they want hope. Project Hail Mary has both in spades. 

At the center of it all is Ryan Gosling. While there are a smattering of other cast members in the film and, of course, an alien creature, Project Hail Mary is really a one man show. If anyone can carry an entire movie, it’s Ryan Gosling. He’s so charming, so funny, so earnest and heartfelt, playing a common man caught up in extraordinary circumstances. I found his performance incredible and impressive for his ability to hold the entire movie on his shoulders. As The Hollywood Reporter put it, “Ryan Gosling proves he can have chemistry with a rock”. My brain is still a little bit Oscar-pilled but my first thought was, “will he be nominated for this?” (Considering the success of the film and the fact that the Oscars love him, I’d say right now the odds are looking pretty good.) Other cast members include Sandra Hüller (also great in her role), Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung (Miles from Lost and Eric from Industry, take your pick, both if you’re a real one), Lionel Boyce (my beloved Marcus from The Bear), and James Ortiz.

I’m not usually an IMAX person, but I felt it was necessary for this one. Project Hail Mary is quite literally made for IMAX. It was definitely the right choice because the visual effects of outer space looked magical. So much so that one sequence, debatably the sequence of the film, when Ryland is on a spacewalk and the infrared light makes the millions of astrophage visible as tiny pink sparkles, actually made me emotional because of how beautiful and arresting it was. The green and orange swirls of the planet Adrian are also stunning. Props to cinematographer Greig Fraser. But also props to the entire filmmaking team and their commitment to using practical effects as much as possible over green-screens. Especially when it came to Rocky, who was portrayed by a puppet instead of created by CGI. Puppeteer James Ortiz did the voice work and puppeteering of Rocky on set, bringing the creature fully to life for both Gosling in their scenes together and for the audience watching at home, forming a palpable bond on both fronts. The film’s sound also strikes the perfect balance, cutting in the most dramatic moments from Daniel Pemberton’s operatic score to the deafening silence of space.

My first thought walking out of the theater was, “A Close Encounters reference and a Harry Styles song in one movie??? This was literally made for me!” And it seems many others felt the same way because the movie was a win at the box office, becoming the second-biggest opening for a non-franchise film in the past decade after Oppenheimer, has gotten praise from critics and audiences alike, and is already shaping up to be a major player in next year’s Oscar race. The Hollywood Reporter even reported that Andy Weir is “toying with sequel ideas” and “a sequel movie is not out of the question”. Because of course the Hollywood model is to run every lucrative and popular idea into the ground. (Not that anyone at Amazon MGM cares about my opinion but please don’t do this.) 

A major reason for the movie’s success is that it harkens back to the old-school, classic blockbuster films that are so often missing from theaters these days. Robbie Collin in The Telegraph said it’s “like a medley of all your favourite sci-fi films.” Essentially, the movie plays all the right notes to endear you to it. But I think because of that, I did feel the smallest, slightest of disconnects with it emotionally. Most telling to me was that I didn’t cry. It did tug at my heartstrings, of course… I’m not a monster! But it didn’t dig quite deep enough for me to feel it at my core. And I don’t have any profound thoughts about the movie. But it’s not that deep. It’s not supposed to be. It’s meant to be fun and entertaining and feel-good and it succeeds in all of that. So while maybe that one small factor knocks a point or two off my final score of the film, I still really, really enjoyed it (saw it in theaters twice!) and think it’s a genuinely special and impressive achievement. I hope Hollywood can learn the right lessons (though I’m not so confident they can) and make more films that feel like this and not just make more films that literally are this.

2026 Count: 25 movies, 10 seasons of television, 0 specials