Author Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary,” his latest book, follows “Cast Away” (but in space) to the big screen, bookending 2015’s “The Martian.” The previous Weir adaptation, which was directed by Ridley Scott, garnered seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture and starred Matt Damon as an astronaut presumed dead but trapped on Mars. Now it’s Ryan Gosling’s turn to be stranded in space.
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are at the helm this time around, directing their first feature film since the miraculously funny and so-stupid-it’s-brilliant “22 Jump Street” (they’ve been plenty busy with TV work and producing the “Spiderverse” films in the meantime). Their brand of humor is injected throughout the movie, for better or worse.
Gosling’s character, Ryland Grace, wakes up from a coma and doesn’t know what has happened to him. It takes him a beat to learn how to move his body again and, much to his surprise, when he looks out the window, he sees nothing but stars. How did he get here? It also takes a while for those memories to come flooding back to him.
The timeline for “Project Hail Mary” jumps back-and-forth. Back on Earth, Ryland was a quick-witted, sarcastic science teacher. He feels at home in a classroom, but is recruited by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) for the titular Hail Mary mission to save earth, as his previous work and studies make him the only person Eva can rely on to complete the mission.
The timeline jumps can be a bit jarring from an editing standpoint, but it’s an understandable tactic to try keeping the movie from being just one character for the 156-minute runtime. The bulk of the movie is spent watching Ryland navigate space, eventually with his alien friend, Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz) — “Project Hail Mary” shows every stranded hero needs their Wilson (to keep with the obvious “Cast Away” comparison). Ryland and Rocky’s relationship is fun and playful, but the plot hits a familiar story arc (the unexpected sidekick is a well-worn gimmick here).
At just over two-and-a-half-hours, “Project Hail Mary” feels sluggish in its pacing, and it eventually becomes detrimental to the story. There are a number of times when the film could have ended on the perfect note but continued on; each false ending dampening any potential emotional impact. It feels like Lord and Miller, along with screenwriter Drew Goddard (who was Oscar-nominated for writing “The Martian”), were never ready to let the story go.
The movie is a star vehicle for Gosling, who shares the screen with several actors and one alien but also spends a lot of time commanding the screen alone. It’s not a stretch for him to play a funny and charming guy, so Gosling’s performance does keep the energy high, even when the story lulls.
As a big screen spectacle, “Project Hail Mary” can be stunning, especially in the towering 70mm format. It’s easy to get swept away by the movie’s visuals, which give audiences the feeling they are lost in space with Gosling. But ultimately, the overlong and meandering screenplay dilutes some of the film’s visual majesty.
“Project Hail Mary” opens in theaters March 19.
Matthew Passantino is a freelance film critic and a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.
