Much of the hype you’ve heard about “Project Hail Mary” is true. Phil Lord and Christoper Miller have taken elements of “2001,” “The Martian,” “Interstellar,” “Star Wars,” not to mention a few others and shaped what is almost a one man space opera for Ryan Gosling.
At more than two and a half hours, is it too long? Oh, yes. Does it matter? Not really. Because what Lord and Miller have done is make a “hard science fiction novel” (that’s really a term) into a very basic story of friendship and survival.
Gosling is outstanding as Ryland Grace, a former star biologist now teaching middle school, who becomes a begrudging anti-hero. You know the type in these movies — he has to save the world but doesn’t really want to. Grace is self-effacing and glib, much like Peter Quill the Star Lord, from “Guardians of the Galaxy,” but far less annoying. He’s softened by an alien buddy like Groot, the wisecracking tree stump from “Guardians.” That’s Rocky, kind of a spider made of rocks, voiced by James Ortiz, with sensitivity and humor.
So it’s basically a two-hander, with Grace and Rocky, and some flashbacks to Grace getting his assignment from a top top high level government official played by Sandra Huller. She hires him to save the world from a slowly dying sun, and when he decides not to go, she forces him. He’s not an astronaut — “I put the no in astronaut!” — but she doesn’t care. There’s a nice turn from Lionel Boyce (we love him in “The Bear”) as Huller’s softie of a strongarm.
Grace wakes up years later aboard his space ship. His crew members have died, and until he meets Rocky — traveling from his planet in another space vehicle — he’s on his own. The echoes of “The Martian” are plentiful, and so are the other references I mentioned. But then there’s a production that is so elevated that “Project Hail Mary” takes on its own life.
First of all, Daniel Pemberton’s score is like a Best Supporting player. Lush and inventive, the music is key to this film. It might as well be Pemberton’s opera. It’s fresh and welcoming, full of gorgeous swells and surprise touches. Everything else below the line is staggering: the cinematography and editing, the lighting, graphics and production design are other worldly.
You may have trouble with the intricacies of the plot. But you can get around that when you realize the story is about Grace and Rocky. Grace — with his “Deadpool” cockiness (absent the vulagarity) — makes a lot of selfless choices because of his fondness for Rocky. Watching their relationship deepen is what makes the movie compelling enough to see it through to the end.
Amazon is hoping for their first blockbuster here. I went to a 5:45 pm showing in the suburbs. There were about 20 people tops in the theater. But I think word of mouth should take off pretty fast. Amazon has spent around $250 million to set it up. Let’s see if their Hail Mary pass pays off.
PS In addition to Pemberton’s music, there’s a surprise remix of the Beatles song, “Two of Us.” I’d love to know how much of the $250 million budget went to that. Fourteen years ago, “The Social Network” had to cough up $1 million for “Baby You’re a Rich Man. Just sayin’…
