Hollywood can still make great movies
“Project Hail Mary” is proof.
Based upon the novel of the same name by author Andy Weir (who also wrote “The Martian”), the science fiction film released by Amazon MGM Studios has already grossed more than $600 million worldwide, on a $190 million budget. The film had the highest opening box office revenues so far this year, and the best opening for any Amazon film ever.
In fact, “Project Hail Mary” has enjoyed so much success that its theatrical run has been extended before it goes to streaming. (When was the last time that happened?) This only goes to show that audiences will spend the money to go to theaters if they have the chance to watch films that are well made, imaginative, family-friendly and not vehicles for left-wing propaganda or populated with dull characters who are one-dimensional tropes.
The film’s main character, Ryland Grace, is a gifted scientist, clearly underemployed as a middle school science teacher (though beloved by his students). As the film opens, Grace awakens from an induced coma to find himself on a spaceship (the “Hail Mary”) headed toward the Tau Ceti system, light years from Earth. Grace’s memories are (initially) absent or muddled, and the other astronauts on the ship have died in transit, so the backstory is done via flashbacks, as Grace remembers in bits and pieces how he came to be on the ship and what he is supposed to be doing.
That, of course, is saving the world. Earth’s population is threatened by the discovery of an alien life form that humans call the “astrophage,” which is consuming the sun’s energy. But a distant star in the Tau Ceti system appears to be unaffected by the astrophage, and so an international group of high-ranking government officials on Earth devise to plan to send a team of scientist-astronauts to Tau Ceti to find out why, and whether that answer can save Earth’s sun.
Grace was not supposed to be on that team, and how he ends up alone on the spaceship headed to Tau Ceti is something he remembers more than halfway through the film. What he realizes much earlier, however, is that the trip is a suicide mission; there was never going to be enough fuel to get to Tau Ceti and back again; all important information would have to be relayed back to earth via interstellar drones.
“Project Hail Mary” has a series of delightful twists on the somewhat formulaic “reluctant hero saves the world” plot. First, the film contains not one but three “first contact” episodes. The first is discovery of the astrophage. The second is a sentient alien Grace meets in space and names “Rocky.” Rocky resembles a cross between a very large spider and a very small stone golem, and his planet – Erid – is also facing an extinction event caused by the astrophage. Rocky was part of an investigatory team sent to Tau Ceti. Like Grace, Rocky’s shipmates have not survived the trip; he, too, is alone.
Rocky and Grace learn to communicate and work together to discover a third interstellar species (Grace christens this the “Taumoeba”) that has the potential to prevent the destruction of Earth’s sun and Erid’s star, thus saving the populations of both planets.
The film works beautifully because so many things are done well. Weir is famous for his serious approach to the science in his novels, which makes the tech geeks happy. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller capture that same spirit and create a plot that is compelling without being overly difficult to understand.
Many sci-fi films involving human contact with alien species craft a storyline around terror and predation by the aliens or exploitation of the aliens by humans. “Project Hail Mary” avoids those stereotypes, contemplating two species facing the same existential threat and struggling to combine their efforts to save their respective planets. The dangers are external to Grace and Rocky. As a result, the audience is rooting for both, a refreshing change of pace.
Perhaps most importantly, the characters are well developed, complex and multifaceted. Rocky and Grace are concerned primarily with their own species, to be sure, but they are not selfish (notwithstanding their personality quirks, which the film plays up to amusing effect). We don’t learn much about the doomed members of the Hail Mary crew, even in Grace’s flashbacks, but we see quite a bit of Eva Stratt, the authoritarian head of the global project to save the sun. She is cold and humorless, and there is never any question that she will do everything in her power to save Earth’s population. But even Stratt has her moments, and the script gives German actress Sandra Huller the opportunity to convey Stratt’s humanity and the weight of her responsibilities.
And then there is Ryland Grace himself, played by Ryan Gosling (“Barbie,” “La La Land,” “The Notebook”). Gosling’s Grace is lovable and relatable, even as he faces what seem like insurmountable challenges. Grace could have despaired upon realizing that he is never going home, but he doesn’t. Instead, he rises to the occasion over and over again. The character experiences confusion, doubt, fear, determination, frustration, bravery and even self-sacrifice in just over two and a half hours. Gosling makes all those emotions and the actions prompted thereby utterly believable, and he does it without going overboard.
Although the relationship that develops between Grace and Rocky has plenty of humorous moments, the film doesn’t treat Rocky as Grace’s pet, and both Rocky and Grace are moved, amazed and inspired by the differences they observe in each other as the film progresses. It’s easy to forget that Gosling is giving this masterful performance while interacting – in real life – with puppets. That takes talent and genuine skill, and I hope that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is paying attention.
“Project Hail Mary” isn’t a remake. It isn’t an adaptation of a comic book. It isn’t a sequel. It isn’t a one-explosion-after-the-other action film. There are very few sexual references. No real vulgarity. No potty humor intended for 12-year-old boys. In short, it is none of the things that we’ve been told Hollywood “must do” to make money on a film.
It’s a great story, with great – if flawed – characters. It is uplifting. And it is a huge success.
Amaze, amaze, amaze.