“Why is a school teacher in space?” I wondered the same thing before heading to see Project Hail Mary. But by the end, I knew exactly why—and I was so glad I went.
Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace’s high-stakes mission to save the world before a mysterious substance extinguishes the sun. The film flashes back and forth between Grace’s struggle in deep space and the science teacher’s journey toward stepping onto the ship.
The movie is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie) and stars Ryan Gosling (La La Land, Drive, Barbie). With a supporting cast of Sandra Huller, James Ortiz, and Lionel Boyce.
Visually, the film illustrates a breathtaking immersion in space. In my view, one of the most gorgeous sequences features Grace suspended beyond a planet, surrounded by an orange and green kinetic swirl. Each frame captures the beauty of the deep-space void, making it even more impressive without a single ounce of CGI. That’s right—a rocket navigating the universe can be constructed through only practical effects and VFX. Even on a budget of just 200 million dollars. Take note, Netflix. Miller described the process during an interview where he explained:
“Not a single green or blue screen was used…The whole ship was built as a set from the inside” (Miller). When Ryan is outside on the hull of the ship, we shot him in front of a black background for space and a shifting hue background when he was up against the aurora of a planet which allowed for truer interactive light on him than a green screen would. The wide space exteriors and spaceship shots were entirely digital and beautifully done by ILM”.
Now you may wonder how the directors constructed an alien without CGI. The answer is puppets. During filming, there were “five puppeteers each operating one of his arms.” According to Gosling, they dressed like ninjas and called themselves the “Rocketeers”.
No one could have played Grace better than Gosling. His deadpan humor matches the Barbie star’s sensibilities perfectly, alongside his impeccable screen presence. Personally, I believe this charm will secure Gosling a fifth Oscar nomination and solidify his status as one of the great actors of our generation.
He is joined by his partner in crime, Rocky. Many were skeptical at first about “spoiling” the alien’s appearance in the trailer. But as Gosling said—and I agree—“People didn’t want us to talk about Rocky, but it’s like pretending E.T. is about a kid whose parents get divorced, you know?”
Their friendship triggers both laughter and tears, leaving you longing for a companion as devoted as Rocky. The bond is so endearing that Grace even introduces his alien counterpart to the entire Rocky film franchise. What could be more perfect than that?
Subsequently, the film currently holds a 4.3 rating on Letterboxd and jumped into the Top 100 list of all time on the platform before it even hit theaters. As of April 8, the movie sits at spot 110. I agree with the acclaim; was it the most perfect film of all time? No. But did it get pretty close? Yes.
The only issue I had was the length and pacing. I felt that the ending was stretched a little too long and could have been cut by at least 10 minutes. If I were in the editing room, I would have forgone the karaoke and Rocky on the beach sequences. That’s just my personal opinion, but with that minor edit, I could have easily rated the film five stars.
As Gosling yells in Barbie, Project Hail Mary was “SUBLIME!”
Here are a handful of Letterboxd reviews; if my mine still hasn’t persuaded you to see Hail Mary, these sure will:
“the definition of accidentally became important at work and it’s running my life” -Mak (@mak) March 11, 2026, 4.5/5 https://letterboxd.com/film/project-hail-mary/reviews/by/activity/
“Ryan Gosling’s on a mission to find out why the City of Stars stopped shining just for him” -Starstruck780 (@Starstruck780) March 11, 2026, 5/5 https://letterboxd.com/starstruck780/film/project-hail-mary/
“Interstellar son or Project Hail Mary daughter?” -Oakey Reviews (@OakleyReviews) March 13, 2026, 5/5 https://letterboxd.com/oakeyreviews/film/project-hail-mary/
“Ryan Gosling moving on from emma to a stone” -Neorapp (@neorapp) March 26, 2026, 4.5/5 https://letterboxd.com/neorapp/film/project-hail-mary/
“Amy Adams taught me alien linguistics isn’t supposed to be this easy.” -Kylo (@Kylo) March 14, 2026, 4.5/5 https://letterboxd.com/kyloz/film/project-hail-mary/