‘Project Hail Mary’ Review: Ryan Gosling’s New Space Epic Is Amaze Amaze Amaze

It’s been nearly six years since Project Hail Mary entered development when Amazon MGM acquired the rights for the project back in 2020, and now the live-action adaptation for one of the greatest sci-fi novels of all time is finally here. It’s no small task, adapting a book that’s viewed in such a positive light as Project Hail Mary, but it’s also not the first time someone has attempted to bring one of Andy Weir’s novels into live-action. Ridley Scott succeeded in adapting The Martian, the 2015 sci-fi adventure that grossed over $600 million at the box office and was nominated for seven Oscars.

It’s too early to tell if Project Hail Mary will live on in the same light as other great space sci-fi epics to come before, like The Martian and Interstellar, but it’s on the right track. With Spider-Verse directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller at the helm — their first live-action feature directorial effort since 2014’s 22 Jump Street — the film mostly manages to capture the same magic of Weir’s novel. It faces the same set of challenges as any live-action adaptation that’s forced to cut out a lot of the meat to fit into a reasonable runtime, but it makes the right choices regarding what to include — mostly.

What Is ‘Project Hail Mary’ About?

Project Hail Mary follows a former scientist-turned-schoolteacher named Ryland Grace, and it unfolds across two timelines. The first picks up with Ryland in space, initially trying to figure out who and where he is, and the purpose of his mission. The second takes place back on Earth, where he’s involved in a project to save Earth from an energy-consuming space algae known as Astrophage, which has left humans with less than 30 years to live before the planet freezes over and everyone starves to death.

The film starts out on a trajectory similar to other space sci-fi epics like the aforementioned Interstellar and The Martian, but things take a turn when Ryland discovers an alien from the 40 Eridani system whose home planet is in the same situation as Earth. Together, the duo work to save their home planets, forming a warming and unexpected bond in the process that sets the film apart from other entries in the genre.

Mileage on ‘Project Hail Mary’ May Vary

Those who have read Project Hail Mary will have no trouble recognizing that, of course, some creative liberties have been taken to bring the novel to live-action. This is to be expected; the audiobook clocks in at over 16 hours, so there’s simply no way to tell the story without cutting a few things out. Most of the sacrifice is made by removing Grace’s inner monologue that moves the plot forward in the book, but that’s usually not required when you have the screen to animate what’s happening.

The biggest issues with the film, which likely won’t be enough to keep it from being a serious contender at the 2027 Academy Awards, lie with some character changes and pacing issues towards the end. Every member of the cast, particularly Ryan Gosling, brings their all to their respective role, but Gosling is one of the few playing a character that book readers will recognize and adore. Eva Stratt, portrayed by the great Sandra Hüller, is a much softer presence than the almost dictator-esque version of herself in the book. Tragically, the three original astronauts selected for the mission, Yao, DuBois, and Ilyukhina, are essentially sacrificed entirely to shine more light on Grace’s budding relationship with Rocky.

Project Hail Mary also struggles somewhat in the wind-down when it’s time to land the plane, but this is largely due to there being several climaxes during the final act of the book. The only way to bring the final act to the big screen in less than four hours is to either skip one of these climaxes entirely or merge them. The film opts to combine a few of the most impactful moments, like the power outage and the Taumoeba outbreak, which ultimately forces the final act to feel a bit jumbled when juxtaposed with the book.

‘Project Hail Mary’ Is a Technical Masterpiece

Where Project Hail Mary doesn’t falter, and where it will certainly win over the masses, is with its technical execution. This comes as no surprise with director of photography Greig Fraser at the helm, who has credits under his belt, including both Dune movies, The Batman, Zero Dark Thirty, and Rogue One, just to name a few. Fraser’s cinematography, paired with Lord and Miller’s direction, brings to life an awe-inspiring technical accomplishment, particularly in the animation of Astrophage as seen under the infrared glow of a Petrovascope.

The technical expertise behind Project Hail Mary is part of what makes the script deficiencies so glaring. When everything in the film is operating at such high levels, it’s hard not to cringe during some moments that lean far too much into humor. While Project Hail Mary is a delightfully funny book at times, it’s still more of a serious story at heart, centered around both loneliness and connection. Many of these moments are glossed over in the film, with a laugh designed to soften a heavy emotional blow. It almost makes Gosling’s performance even more impressive that he’s able to balance the emotion and humor so well, considering the scales are often tipped too far in the direction of the latter.

‘Project Hail Mary’ Gets Rocky Right

During the marketing for Project Hail Mary, fans were divided on whether it was a good idea to feature Rocky in the film’s trailers. Author Andy Weir broke his silence on this, saying that Rocky is an integral part of the story, and not something to hide and save for a surprise on opening weekend. Project Hail Mary may not get everything right in its attempt to adapt one of the all-time great sci-fi novels, but it hits the nail right on the head with Rocky.

The adorable Eridian, voiced by James Ortiz, has the perfect back-and-forth with Grace. The film also saves some of its more serious moments for the friendship between the two, like the adventure over Adrian and the ending on Erid, both of which are executed flawlessly. Even the biggest single change from novel to screen in the Project Hail Mary movie is a direct casualty of something many fans felt Rocky should have done in the book: building Grace a spacesuit and allowing him to see the inside of his spaceship, the Blip A. This is the perfect example of an adaptation adding to its source material without sacrificing anything from it.

Ryan Gosling is the star of Project Hail Mary and the one who will likely be recognized with awards for his performance, but Rocky is a co-star in his own right. He’s every bit as important a character, and the movie treats him with all the respect he deserves. Between the design, his personality, and his charming banter with Ryland, it’s clear everyone involved in the making of Project Hail Mary knew how important it was to get this part of the film right.

‘Project Hail Mary’ Is the Adaptation Fans Deserve

While it’s not without its flaws, Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi adaptation worthy of its namesake. The film faces some impossible challenges in adapting and condensing one of the greatest science fiction stories ever told, but it’s obvious that it meant enough to everyone involved to be treated with care. This isn’t a case where book-readers will wonder for years if they’ll ever get to see a faithful version of their favorite story.

Project Hail Mary is the first great sci-fi film of 2026, and it will live on as one of the greatest performances of Ryan Gosling’s career. It fits perfectly alongside Weir’s previous adaptation, The Martian, as a sci-fi adaptation that dared to be different while also paying respect to its source material. Even with some frustrating changes and omissions, the film is already on its way to critical and financial success, while promising to bring joy to millions of movie fans around the world.

Project Hail Mary is out in theaters everywhere in regular and premium formats on March 20. Stay tuned to Agents of Fandom socials for all the latest entertainment news and reviews.