Project Hail Mary (2026)

What's cooler, space or Ryan Gosling? And other questions of the universe that are impossible to answer.

The story of Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle school science teacher who wakes up alone on a spacecraft with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As his memories gradually return, he realises he’s been sent on a last-ditch mission to save Earth and with the clock ticking on humanity’s survival, Grace has to piece together both the science and his own past, while navigating the fact that he may not be as alone in space as he first thought.

Ryan Gosling is doing everything here, and doing it effortlessly. This is his best work since La La Land, no question. He toggles between comedy, panic, vulnerability, and full-blown existential dread without ever making it feel like a performance. For two and a half hours, he is the film and effortlessly carries the weight of the universe (literally).

And then he almost gets upstaged as he’s partnered with a rock creature.

I won’t spoil too much, but this alien co-lead is one of the most original and unexpectedly endearing creations in recent sci-fi. Not remotely humanoid, not what you’d picture when you think “alien,” and yet… so full of personality. So cute, frankly. The dynamic that develops here becomes the emotional core of the film, and it’s where the movie really finds its heartbeat.

Special shoutout to Sandra Hüller as well, who could have easily been stuck delivering clunky exposition from afar, but instead injects her role with real texture and presence. She grounds the film in a way that stops it from drifting too far into concept over character.

Visually, it’s massive. The set pieces are extraordinary, and space is showcased in that true awe-some sense of the word, both beautiful and terrifying. There’s a scale to everything that feels earned rather than indulgent, and when the film leans into its spectacle, it really lands. Add to that some genuinely great needle drops, and the whole thing just feels… big. In the best way.

That said, it does run a little long. It plays like a four-act structure when it probably could’ve stayed with three. The final stretch is surprising and, in parts, rewarding, but does it need to be there? Not really. Does it hurt the film? Also no. It just lingers a little longer than necessary.

What really got me, though, is how well it balances its emotional and scientific stakes. This is that Interstellar-adjacent space where the science matters, but the feelings matter just as much. When those two things are in sync, you’re onto something special, and this film absolutely gets there.