*JAZZ HANDS* This movie is being called amaze, amaze, amaze!
Next week Ryan Gosling’s newest film releases in cinemas across the globe, but you may already be seeing some buzz around the film. The film in question is Project Hail Mary, the film comes from the mind of the same author of The Martian. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, is similar to his other popular book and film The Martian in that its hard science fiction story with significant comedic elements. Originally published as a novel back in 2021, Project Hail Mary shot to the top of the charts instantly and has been heralded as one of the best new modern sci-fi classics. The audiobook is often discussed as one of the best audiobooks ever written and is pushed as the primary method of consuming this novel, partly due to its subject matter, partly due to the excellent narration by Ray Porter.
What is Project Hail Mary About?
Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is a middle school science teacher, who awakes in a strange room, in a strange bed, and two corpse in the beds next to him. The biggest problem though is he has no idea who he even is, where he is, or who these people are. To make matters worse he soon discovers he is solely responsible for a last ditch effort to save the planet from imminent destruction, but what is it he even needs to save it from? If you’re interest in watching the movie already then I’m going to tell you now to not watch the trailers, go in with as little information as possible if you can.
Hail Mary is a book, and I expect film, where going in with as little knowledge as possible is best. The mystery behind the story is just as entertaining as the humour and the science. The book, similar to The Martian, is grounded in realistic science. Yes there are many elements that dip into the realm of fantasy, but Andy Weir puts in so much work to make every piece of science real and grounded. Often spending pages breaking down how certain aspects of the story scientifically fit in our reality.
What is Being Said About the Movie?
The film comes out next week and early reviews are calling it one of the best original stories put to film in years. Many people who’ve read the book praise it for how it was expertly translated to screen, and those who’ve not read the book are left in awe with the fun, funny, and emotionally driven story. Many are making early Oscar calls.
Why Should You Watch This Movie?
Besides the book being incredibly loved and its immense early praise, there were other early indicators as to why this movie should be on your radar. Let’s look at the behind the scenes crew and cast of the film. For starters the film is being directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are most well known for directing The Lego Movie and the Into The Spider-Verse films. Drew Goddard wrote the films script with the original author Andy Weir, Drew Goddard is best known for writing The Martian script, Netflix’s Daredevil, Cabin in the Woods and even worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most exciting for me though is the films cinematographer is Greig Fraser who shot the epic and beautiful films including both Dune films, The Batman, and Rogue One.
The films cast and crew are stacked with incredible talent that have all expressed a deep passion for the films story. Its positive reception is a testament to the creative team, if this film isn’t on your calendar it’s time to fix that.
Project Hail Mary releases in cinemas next week on the 19th of March.
