Wow. This is our first review of a movie that has come out in theaters since we started, and I have to say it was certainly a great one. I usually only make the trip to the theater for movies I am quite confident that I will enjoy, and I try to keep a clean slate before the trip.
To get Jessica to watch anything, she needs to be convinced. Showing her the trailer a few days before the movie was the first time I myself watched the trailer. She is certainly not one to be into Science Fiction, and I don’t even think the trailer really sold her on going, but she agreed to go, mainly because Ryan Gosling was the main actor. I wanted to watch the movie for the same reason, to be fair.
Our protagonist, Ryland Grace, wakes up in a spaceship light-years away from Earth. The solar system he finds himself in is one in which the threat to the galaxy, Astrophage, seems not to be affecting it. It is explained to the audience that Astrophage is killing the Sun, and thus will eventually lead to life on Earth ceasing to exist.
Grace quickly comes into contact with a different spaceship, one that is certainly not man-made. The ship extends a tunnel to Grace, and he decides to embark on the tunnel, unsure of what he will meet. What he meets, or rather whom, is when this movie decides to take it to the next level.
As I said, I did not know much about the movie before going to see it. I had no idea that I would find myself close to tears at least three times during its duration, rather than going in thinking that I would just be watching a cool Sci-Fi movie that Ryan Gosling happened to be in.
It is through this tunnel that Grace meets Rocky, a loveable little alien that appears to be made of a rock-like substance. We find out that he is in this solar system for the same reason that Grace is, and that he is the last one left of 20+ members of his species that embarked on the journey to try and save their planet. One moment that really stuck with me was when Rocky tells Grace that he could not save his crew members, but that he will not let Grace meet the same fate.
Rocky’s charm comes from his broken English, as it is up to Grace to translate what Rocky is saying into a computer so that the two can communicate with one another. While the two share the same goal, they did not have much in common when it came to the reason they embarked on the journey.
Grace was thrown into the mission as those who were originally supposed to go died in an accident. Not wanting to live a life with more purpose than being an eighth-grade school teacher despite his talent, he refuses to go. The “choice” of whether to go or not is revealed to be a ruse, but after admitting that he is a coward and would rather die with the rest of the planet, the illusion of choice is taken away from him. He is drugged and put into a coma, and sent on the mission against his will.
Rocky brings purpose to Grace and helps Grace become brave and realize that there is more to this life than just living. The part that really got to me was when the two talk about their lives at home, and Grace tells Rocky that he doesn’t have anyone. Grace asks him the same question, and Rocky responds that he has been with his partner for 186 years. Grace tells him that it’s been a long time, and Rocky responds with “it’s not enough.”
The two go on the journey to save their planets together, ultimately being successful in doing so, although both characters suffer near-death experiences. Being bonded in such a way is a bond that can not easily be broken, as we see with Grace’s choices.
Grace reveals to Rocky that he was sent on a one-way trip, not having enough fuel to go home. Rocky decides to give Grace the fuel he needs to return home after the two are successful in discovering how to eliminate astrophage. A very heartfelt goodbye takes place, and the two part ways.
On the way home, the cure to Astrophage evolves to break through the Xenon container that it was being held in. Grace immediately freaks out, as Rocky’s entire ship is made out of Xenon. Having only enough fuel to either return to Earth or turn around and save Rocky, Grace makes the selfless decision to send the drones that were originally supposed to be the only objects returning to Earth on the course back, and turns around, throwing away his chance to return to the place he never wanted to leave, to save his only friend.
Being successful in doing so, Grace comes to peace with his decision. Nothing ever mattered to him more than Rocky. After returning to Rocky’s home, Grace is allowed to return to Earth after his ship is repaired and refueled. Grace decides to stick around, and in his newfound life, he’s back to being the eighth-grade school teacher that he was back home; instead, now, he’s teaching a class of Rocky’s people.
I would recommend everyone to watch this movie, as I truly believe there are parts of it for everyone to enjoy. Anyone with a heart will fall in love with Rocky and the relationship that he and Grace find with one another. The film currently sits with heavily positive reviews on every major site, and I say that this is an accurate depiction.
Jessica’s review of the movie is also overwhelmingly positive, and I would say you can definitely tell where our shared love for the movie comes from. Her review follows below.
“My first impression of this movie was not great. I definitely am biased against space movies, and when Cyrus told me that it was, I definitely wasn’t like, ‘I really wanna go watch this.’ It also doesn’t help that we would also have to go and drive all the way out to the theater and spend money on the ticket, as well as spending all the money it takes when you go there for all the popcorn and the drinks.
I was kind of thrown into watching this movie when Cyrus randomly told me he wanted to watch it. He had asked me to watch the trailer, but I kept forgetting. I felt like this could be a good movie, but boy, was I pleasantly surprised.
I kind of had a bad opinion about it because I’m not into space movies like futuristic stuff and that type of thing, especially as a lot of them run longer, and I always fall asleep during long movies, too. It’s just easy to get bored when it’s such a long movie, especially when you’re at the theater because you don’t have your phone to check the time.
But anyway, I liked the idea of Ryan Gosling being in it, though, because I’m a fan of his. I loved him in The Notebook. I think he’s a great actor, and I definitely didn’t expect the movie to go the way it did. I’ll say when I saw the trailer, I thought it was gonna be something about just him going up in space with a few other people and trying to figure out how to solve a problem.
I didn’t realize he would make a companion with a very atypical alien. When I think of an alien, I think of the typical big oval black eyes and big green head. This alien was a spider crab-looking, rocky, hard, material-like creature, if that makes sense.
I cried a lot during this movie because I fell in love with Rock. He became his alien friend, and they ended up saving both of their worlds. Safe to say I think I really enjoyed this movie a lot because it brought tears to my eyes. I can always enjoy a movie that brings my emotions out. I am an emotional person, but when a movie gets me emotional a bunch of times, then I’m like, OK, this is really good, so I let myself cry.
I hate to be sad for a movie, but that just means it’s really good in my opinion, so I can appreciate that for sure. I also think I just love the idea of a heartfelt moment or some sort of companionship, or when a character has some sort of belonging. I can really appreciate when that takes place in a movie, that’s why I think I fell so in love with it.
The fact that these two unlikely characters came together and formed a really strong bond, and that’s really what made things so emotional and so beautiful to me, so I think this movie was like a 9 out of 10, to be honest, and I’m really shocked that I felt that way. Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but maybe I should put a little more trust in his taste in movies cause sometimes I’m a little bit intimidated. I will say I come out and I really enjoy a lot of them. This was a very good movie, and it brought a lot of tears. I love you, Rocky.”
Project Hail Mary is a special film and one that I will not soon forget about. The ability to tug at my heartstrings is not an easy one, but it is successful in doing so. I am grateful that Jess and I shared a love for this movie, as well as Rocky. I hope this leads to more Science-Fiction in our future! This movie earned a generous combined review of 4.5/5 stars!
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½
Check out our previous review of Sleepwalkers (1992) here!
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