Bhautik Patel

Movies are loved by people all around the world. From franchises such as “Star Wars” and stand alones such as “Mean Girls,” movies can come in all genres and lengths. Recently, a movie that has gotten everyone’s attention just came out in theaters. “Project Hail Mary,” directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, was based on the book by Andy Weir. Starring Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, the main character, the movie starts in space. Grace wakes up with no memory of who he is or how he got there; the only people on the ship being a dead mechanic and dead pilot. Grace remembers his past more and more as he travels home with the little gas left in the ship. Eventually, Grace meets Rocky, an alien with rock-like features. Grace and Rocky learn to communicate and figure out they have the same goal: to save their home land’s sun from being eaten by small organisms that are eating every star except for one. They travel together, learning each other’s pasts, and eventually make it to the only healthy star. 

Although this movie is over an hour and a half long, many people have gone into theaters to watch it. However, people have had mixed feelings. Some say that this movie was great and met expectations while others (specifically those who read the book) say this was disappointing and could have been portrayed better. One of these critics, Fritz Murray, did not enjoy the movie. He had many mixed opinions including, “If you removed all the dialogue, I imagine ‘Project Hail Mary’ would be fantastic — the visuals throughout are excellent, and a few standout sequences are breathtaking.” Most people have loved the visuals of the movie. Though the dialogue moves the movie along, it can be too much without a need. 

All of the dialogue is with Grace too. Murray also said, “Gosling is at his best when he has another person to play off in the room, like the part early on where he gets to act out a different buddy comedy dynamic with government agent Officer Carl (Lionel Boyce). However, when he’s alone or even with an alien, Ryan Gosling just isn’t up to the task of completely carrying this movie.” This can be true, with Grace taking up almost all of the dialogue, yet many say that Ryan Gosling made the movie great.

One example of a positive critic is Sam Gassaway who said “Speaking of Gosling, he managed to deliver a heartfelt performance that kept me invested in his character. Throughout most of the film, Gosling was the only human character on screen, which in theory would be difficult to keep interesting. However, his performance feels real, and he’s able to carry scenes on his own, and I applaud him for being able to perfectly bounce off his faceless co-star.” Many people also loved the way there was no genuine criticisms they could think of: “I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with “Project Hail Mary” It’s difficult to come up with any genuine criticism because every aspect of this film is at the height of its field, and there aren’t any weak links in its production” also said Gassaway. 

Some younger viewers such as Isabel, a 7th grader at St. Robert, responded to a question of whether she would change any aspects of the movie with “I would not change anything. I really enjoyed the movie and how it was produced. There was a great range of emotional variation, many beautiful moments and when this movie is released to streaming services I will watch it many times over.” Another younger audience member is Lula, also a 7th grader at St. Robert, who thought the movie got better as it progressed.

Like most movies, “Project Hail Mary” is going to be loved by many and hated by many. This movie will get criticism from all over the world whether good or bad. Millions of people have already gone to theaters to see it, and in the span of the remembrance of this movie, hundreds of thousands of millions more people will watch this with their own criticism. 

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