Project Hail Mary Review

 

Project Hail Mary is proof that Hollywood did not forget how to make good movies, they simply refused to make many good ones for years. For reasons like pushing gender ideology, and other narratives, they made stuff people just became less and less interested in. I had become so dis-interested in the movies being made by 2019 I decided that I was not going to go to the cinemas anymore. I say this as someone who loves movies. I really enjoy them, and there are heaps that are really well done and powerful.

Some people will argue that a good book always beats a good movie. I disagree. I love books and I read all the time. But there is a time for a book and a time for movie, they are different art forms that create pleasure, enjoyment and wonder in different ways. Yea, usually the book behind any given movie is better, for sure. But then there is the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. You don’t get that without the movies being made. That soundtrack is a work of art of the highest quality in its own right.

Yet Hollywood had gotten so bad at this process by 2019, that I saw no point in engaging with their products. This movie shows that they are seeking to correct that error. I hope the correction continues, because classic adventure tales like this movie are fun experiences.  

Project Hail Mary, is therefore, a real return to form: a classic tale of heroism, wrapped in barely obscured biblical themes, and great characters all the way around. Biblical themes work, because they transcend culture and appeal to the inborn image of God in all of us.

Sometimes people read too deeply into movies to find very specific biblical themes. But this movie makes them much more explicit. A movie about a man called Dr Grace, who is sent out to save the world through a ship called the Hail Mary, which is a direct reference to prayer. The fact that he is sent by a government bureaucrat that explicitly says she believes in God. And the fact that Dr Grace saves the world with a rock, who is crowned in victory as the savour of the universe. You can't get any more obvious than that. I am not saying the author of the book or movie wanted to tell the gospel story, I am only noting that they drew heavily on these biblical themes, because these themes work. That is a big part of what this movie does well.

Another reason it is doing so well is the lead actor. I have always found Ryan Gosling to be a so-so actor. Not bad, not great. Just ok. I have enjoyed him in things like Blade Runner 2049, and even though I have not seen him as Ken in the Barbie movie I know many people thought he stole the show in that film. But this movie shows he has real star power. Probably his career was hampered by coming to his peak in a phase where Hollywood was trying to move away from the straight white male hero. I guess losing hundreds of millions on movie after movie finally broke their desire to push narratives.

I do hope he is now given the kinds of roles where he can give more performances like this one. He carries the movie on his own shoulders for the vast majority of it, and not every actor can do that.

The supporting cast is good. You come to care about the characters. Even the alien in the movie is just done so well. I don’t think an alien has been so endearing in a movie for some time. Some might bring up E.T. as a classic example, but I find that movie a bit creepy. This alien is not creepy at all, but is funny, helpful, charming and an all round good supporting character.

The special effects are good. The story is good. The emotionless determination of the leader of the efforts to save the world is so accurate, some of her actions might leave you with mixed feelings about the movie. But I thought it added to the realism of the storyline, which is necessary in a science fiction movie, because movies like this ask you to suspend your belief about many other things. The characters have to feel real to compensate for that. 

This is easily the best movie I have seen for a long time. Can't think of one that comes close in the last decade. I think this movie is as good as many people made me think Top Gun Maverick would be. Not that Maverick was a bad movie, it just did not reach the heights many claimed for it. I think this movie will become a beloved classic.

You can also take the teenagers to this movie and have no concerns. I think even some younger kids would love it, because the alien, Rocky, is so endearing. I think this one is worth seeing on the big screen.