In 2011, an up and coming author named Andy Weir self-published a little story titled The Martian: the story of an astronaut accidentally stranded alone on the planet Mars; chronicling his efforts to survive and find a way back home. The book was adapted into a successful and enjoyably entertaining film starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott released in 2015. Despite concerns from fans of the book, the film adaptation was as accurate and respectful to the original book as possible, earning many praises from readers and film enthusiasts alike, including Dominic Noble, host of the YouTube show, Lost in Adaptation. Not only was it a good story, the film was a fantastically engaging ride with lots of well placed humor, scientific challenges, and invigorating explorations on the human condition. Not to mention many great jokes about potatoes and how they’re grown in Space.
Now, over a decade later, Andy Weir has come charging back into the Hollywood game with an adaptation of his follow up novel, Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Miller & Lord; you know, the guys who were fired by Disney for permitting too much improv while filming Solo: A Star Wars Story.
That incident may have put them in directors jail for a while, but it looks like they’ve been given another well-deserved shot at the directors chair, and they have hit it out of the park!
Project Hail Mary may very well be the first truly great feel-good movie of the year! Not only does it feature some great acting, splendid imagery, and well-crafted direction, it has the most heart I have seen out of any modern Hollywood movie this decade so far. I eagerly await the opportunity to watch this movie again!
Based on the book of the same title, the story follows an elementary school teacher named Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) who is approached by the government to solve a mystery most of the worlds top scientists can’t put their finger on. It turns out some mysterious cosmic phenomenon is causing the Sun, and many other stars in the known Universe, to shrink, which will eventually lead to galactic catastrophe and extinction level events. However, there is one star that appears to be unaffected by the phenomenon, located some eleven lightyears away, and their only hope is to start a special shuttle launch, using extremely powerful and experimental technology, to travel to the unaffected star, determine the reason for its immunity, and hopefully use its advantage to save the rest of the dying stars. Grace, rather reluctantly, sets out on the mission.
There are a few more aspects of the story that I am deliberately leaving out, despite the possibility that you may have already learned about it in the trailers. But on the off chance that you have not yet seen any of the trailers, I promise you will have a significantly more satisfying experience if you go see the movie only knowing what I have described here.
This movie is, hands down, my present favorite contender for potentially the best film of the year so far! Throughout the entire runtime, I found myself in awe with the characters, the commitment to intelligent storytelling, and especially the technical aspects of the filmmaking (how did they make the lens flairs do that?). What sells the entire story so well is the remarkable chemistry between the two main characters (you’ll see what I mean), and the unique friendship they form, which feels more tangible and relatable than I might have imagined.
Project Hail Mary is an experience the likes of which only comes around, pardon the pun, when the stars are perfectly aligned. This film is as genuine, intelligent, and heartfelt as you can ever hope for, so please stop reading this and go see it immediately. I will not be offended, and you will be in for one heck of a ride!
Absolutely go see it!
Ladies and gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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