Title – Project Hail Mary (2026)

Directors – Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie)

Cast – Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub, James Ortiz

Plot – School science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) is sent on a seemingly one-way mission to space to investigate our dying sun, with help from the most unlikely of places his and humanities only chance of success.

“You’re smart. You’ll figure it out”

Review by Eddie on 20/03/2026

Disclaimer – this is a spoiler free review.

Three months into 2026, we can now safely say we have what is very likely to be one of the year’s biggest commercial and audience hits of the movie year.

A fantastically entertaining big budget blockbuster that successfully adapts The Martian author Andy Weir’s widely popular novel of the same name, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s first live action film since 2014’s 22 Jump Street is a successful concoction of heart, humour, science fiction and an unlikely buddy friendship tale, creating the ideal mass audience offering that is also palpable for harsher cinematic critics.

Estimated to have cost in the vicinity of $200-$250 million to bring to the big screen, Project Hail Mary is an absolute must-see cinematic experience that will appease long-term science fiction fans and more casual moviegoers in equal measure, riding off the coattails of a familiar but heart-warming story that is both grand and intimate, all the while reminding us all that it’s lead star Ryan Gosling is one of the most charismatic and engaging actors working today.

Hard to talk about in any great depth story wise due to many of its ingredients being best left discovered for viewers on their own, with keen participants best advised avoiding trailers for the film where possible, Mary is absolutely the Gosling show as Lord and Miller entrust him to hold their close to three-hour epic together as his school science teacher turned Earth saving astronaut Ryland Grace remains front and centre throughout.

Working off a smartly designed and paced script from proven screenwriter Drew Goddard, conquering his second successful Weir adaptation after the grand success that was 2015’s The Martian, Gosling and his directing duo are finely attuned to one another here and after a few slow years following his Ken triumph in 2023’s Barbie, it’s great to see Gosling back enjoying the cinema landscape once more and there’s a fair chance his cardigan sporting, wisecracking Grace will become one of the actors most long-lasting performances.

From the moment a hazy and bearded Grace awakes from his induced coma deep in space, Gosling is locked in and as we gain a better understanding of Grace’s backstory up until this point, where he is likely humanities only hope of survival with a dying sun destined to ruin the world as we know it, he becomes a likable and winning main protagonist who is carefully and impressively given life by Gosling’s awards worthy turn.

There’re many other impressive elements to Mary’s success, Miller and Lord’s energetic direction is once more on show, proving depressingly we were robbed of something special when they left the Star Wars: Solo project deep into filming, Australian born cinematographer Greig Fraser’s work is on par with his noteworthy work on the Dune series and The Batman, while regular Lord and Miller composer collaborator Daniel Pemberton produces career best work here in giving extra life and energy to a film, that for the best part is confined within the walls of a one man spacecraft.

If there were nitpicks to be had with the film, there’s a sense that more could have been done with the Earth-bound scenes the film reverts back to throughout its runtime, while the films rather chaotic final act could’ve arguably had more time to breathe, with Weir’s source novel certainly taking more of a considered approach in its final acts compared to Miller and Lord’s approach.

At days end it’s rare for Hollywood blockbusters to feel this universally appealing without giving up some of its artistic merits and smarts with Mary balancing its moods and creativity in brilliant fashion.

With a memorable and commanding performance from Gosling, visual spectacle and an unlikely central friendship that is sure to warm hearts across the globe, Mary is a deserved soon to be smash hit that is full of rare optimism and joy not often found in the world as we know it.

Final Say –

A fast-paced, fun and heartfelt journey into the unknown, Project Hail Mary is an effortlessly entertaining blockbuster with bonus heart and soul, making it a must-see for young, old and all in between.

4 1/2 bump fists out of 5