Project Hail Mary Movie Review (2026)
A science-driven adventure about a lone astronaut trying to save humanity, Project Hail Mary is charming, funny, and genuinely heartfelt, with an exciting story and two deeply lovable characters at its center.
I am a huge fan of The Martian. Right after the movie was released in 2015, I read the book by Andy Weir. It’s a great story with a very specific vibe that they carried through to the film. It’s funny, sarcastic, exciting, and extremely engaging. Well, now it’s time for me to pick up this newer book by Weir, because this movie was fantastic.
Project Hail Mary takes place at a time when the sun is slowly dying. It appears to be being eaten by some foreign substance, and top-secret researchers are attempting to solve the problem. School teacher Ryland Grace, a former molecular biologist who is off the scene after his ideas were rejected, is approached by agent Eva Stratt to help research the issue. He is ultimately sent up to space with a small team, where he encounters an alien life form he names Rocky and attempts to complete his mission to save the sun, and thus, humanity.
To be completely honest, I had high hopes for this movie, so I was a little nervous going into it. I love The Martian, I love Andy Weir’s words, and every preview I’d seen for this movie appeared to be great – I was afraid of being disappointed. Luckily, I didn’t have an ounce of feeling in that direction.
Project Hail Mary is an exciting, funny film with just the right amount of Grace’s snark, an engaging adventure story, beautiful visuals, and a lovable secondary-turned-main-character in Rocky.
There are specific moments, ideas, and themes that are extremely reminiscent of Arrival (one of my favorite movies), in which Grace and the alien, both sentient beings, need to learn to communicate with each other and to coexist in each other’s habitats.
Some of the discussion points and observations grabbed me as well. One reason Grace is shunned in his industry is that he argued that water was not necessary for life to evolve. This is a conversation in the existing research community, and I look forward to going down that rabbit hole of study in the near future.
Also, Rocky’s body, which I won’t go into detail about here because I don’t want to ruin it for you, works against the old idea that every alien life form might look human-like, with eyes, a face, arms that extend from the shoulders, etc. Most of our older films (outside of Arrival) adhere to this model, so it’s exciting to see someone possibly more realistic.
Project Hail Mary is a stellar film that will make you laugh a lot and may make you choke up, like I did. It has an excellent, upbeat soundtrack, endearing characters, and a beautiful commentary about both bravery and what real friendship looks like. I loved it, and I think you will too.
Runtime: 156 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English and Rocky’s language with translation
Should You Watch It? Yes, absolutely
Did I Cry? Yes, I got choked up
My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Available: Currently in theaters
