“Project Hail Mary,” the newest film from directorial duo Phil Lord and Christpher Miller, is having a moment right now, both in theaters and in the popular culture writ large. We at AMP are proud to say that we’re fully susceptible to clinging to the latest trends in an effort to become more popular! Clearly what resonates with audiences isn’t these films’ messages of hope or anything like that, it’s the fact that they’re both based on science fiction novels by Andy Weir. So, to appease the desperate masses, we’ll waste no time jumping right into our Andy Weir double feature.
The Martian (2015)
Before “Project Hail Mary,” there was another charming, realistic sci-fi movie starring a Hollywood White Guy that we all tend to overlook. Everyone always raves about “Interstellar,” “Apollo-13,” and “2001: A Space Odyssey,” but who among us cares about Ridley Scott’s “The Martian?” No one, except for this one guy I know who’s seen it twenty times.
I’m not asking you to see “The Martian” that many times, because that’s insane, but I am asking that you give this film at least one watch.
The Martian follows astronaut and botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who fails to leave Mars due to being impaled by space equipment and thus has to learn how to survive on Mars until help arrives. What this film, alongside most Weir novel adaptations, does best is adhere to the actual mechanisms of aerospace engineering and astronomy as a whole. Watching Matt Damon bust it down survivalist-style as he figures out how to grow food is enough to inspire anyone to think about the expanse of the universe, how unfamiliar even our neighboring planets are, and really, how space exploration (exploration ONLY — down with Mars communes!) is so fucking back. There is nothing more powerful than the wonder and terror of knowing that we are so small and yet full of so much wonder.
If there’s any facet of this film that I want to give a special nod to, it’s Matt Damon’s performance. For those who don’t know me (which is most of you), I am a huge Matt Damon fan. A Damon-head, if you will. I’ve actually been alive since the 1980s and have followed his career since Good Will Hunting with great interest! No, I haven’t. But I do think that there is a special kind of loneliness that permeates Weir’s adaptive sci-fi work that Damon embodies incredibly well. Watching him waste away as the veneer of hope flickers through the character is nothing short of a cinematic experience. In most circumstances, I would say that this is why Damon should have won the Oscar that year, but I have eyes and those eyes saw “The Revenant.”
All in all, if you, like most of us, are still floating from the excitement of the recent Artemis II mission, I highly recommend you watch “The Martian” as a precursor to “Project Hail Mary.” Though similar in dealing with the theme of isolation and the scale of our own existence, “The Martian” is the gritty, arguably more somber watch that still leaves you with the swell only hope can give.
Project Hail Mary (2026)
I heard about how hopeful this movie was before walking into the theater to see it. With the state of the world right now, I figured we could all use a little hope.
The first act does a great job of immediately hooking the viewer by starting off in media res, with the main character, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), waking up in a spacecraft with two dead crewmates 11 light-years away from Earth. As a science fiction fan myself, I appreciated the grounded sci-fi concepts the film introduces right off the bat. It feels realistic, yet it’s still compelling enough to hold my interest as we learn about the colony of alien organisms that is the primary focus of the plot. The non-linear storytelling also gets us invested in both of Grace’s current-day struggles. We are slowly drip-fed information via flashbacks that elucidate the greater mystery surrounding the supposed sun-eating aliens that Grace has been sent into space to research. Since I went into the movie blind (Which I’d highly recommend!), the mystery felt especially gripping.
The movie really begins to shine when it introduces its deuteragonist, Rocky, the lovable silica-based alien brought to life by the combined puppeteering and voice acting of James Ortiz. Both Ryan Gosling and James Ortiz give incredibly charming performances, and their chemistry is apparent as soon as they share the screen. The whole film has a sense of levity, even in the dire situation the characters find themselves in. This especially comes through in Gosling’s performance of Grace, which I was initially irritated by due to all of the corny quips the character kept dishing out, until I realized the sincerity in Gosling’s corniness. Gosling, and the film writ large, make cheesy jokes, revel in fun times between Rocky and Grace, and believe wholeheartedly that a ragtag duo can save the world. The film wears this optimistic conviction on its sleeve, and you can’t help but be swept up in it.
More than hope, this is a movie about connection. It proudly claims that our bonds with each other are the most important thing in life, and that it’s possible to save the world through the connections we form. This sincere belief in something so good is what I think people mean when they say this movie is “hopeful.” With our country becoming more and more divided every day, it’s refreshing to hear a film say that it’s possible for people to come together and do the right thing. The line that sticks with me the most is when Grace, whilst doubting himself, asks someone how to be brave. “You just need to find someone to be brave for,” they answer. We all have people we care about. This movie wants you to appreciate them and try to do right by them.
I highly recommend watching this film if you can. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel or anything, and it can feel a bit slow for people who care more about high-octane plot rather than characters or themes, but it’s led by two incredibly charming performances that focus simply on the goodness of humanity — and after everything that’s been in the news lately, I know I’ll take any opportunity to believe in that goodness.
