Spoilers Ahead

I went into Project Hail Mary with high expectations, although those expectations were triggered largely by its trailers than anything else. I’ll admit, for as much as I love to read, I wasn’t familiar with the source material prior to the film entering its promotional cycle. Sure, I was aware of Andy Weir, what with The Martian getting a Ridley Scott adaption during the previous decade, but the general premise of this particular entry in his bibliography was fairly unknown to me.

The trailers gave me a general gist of what it was about, a lone survivor awakens in a different galaxy in a bid to try and kickstart our solar system’s sun, making a like-minded extra terrestrial buddy along the way; however that’s as far as my knowledge went. 

A part of me was tempted to grab a copy of the book before entering into this. A lot of folk had mentioned that it was a worthy read, and that given how much material it contained, a movie adaptation was unlikely to capture the full scale of what it was about. In the end, however, I figured I’d jump into the movie first hand, then experience the novel second.

The trailers captivated me, and something about the visual grammar folded into the promotional material stuck with me. I got a sense that while everyone was praising the book, there might be something special lurking within the ways in which Phil Lord and Chris Miller had transitioned the project from page to screen. So I did what some may consider to be literature sacrilege; I went to watch the movie first. 

At the time of writing, I’ve yet to read the book. As far as the film goes, however, I was surprised just how much this one impacted me. That probably sounds a little weird, considering I’ve just sat here and waffled on about how much the trailers captured my attention. I was excited for this one, and in the frenzy mustered up by my enthusiasm, went into this one desperate to love it.

I’m a fan of Lord and Miller’s previous filmography, I’ve discovered a recent admiration for Ryan Gosling’s career, plus the trailers gave me confident there might well be something special lurking within this movie. And yet still, when I got to the other side of this one’s runtime, I was beside myself with just how much it actually resonated with me. 

Because you see, this didn’t just turn out to be a movie I thoroughly enjoyed, but one I adored. Heck, I think it may have even managed to weasel its way into my top 5 all time favourite movies of all time. It is perhaps one of the most impactful and memorable cinema experiences I’ve had in decades; the sort where I’m wrestling with a whole plethora of differing emotions as the runtime progresses forth. Perhaps the last time I had a moment in the multiplex like this was Spider-Man 2, all the way back in 2004. The sort of movie where I’m sobbing and laughing and just going through all of the emotions. I fell in love with the relationships that blossomed in this movie. It’s been three weeks since i saw the first preview screening, and I’m still thinking about how I felt during that IMAX screening.

I’ve been trying to put my finger on why I was so utterly moved by Grace and Rocky’s friendship. Was it the sheer miraculousness of two people meeting under such impossible circumstances? While on the surface their friendship plays out like a man and his exceptionally talented German Shepard; if that dog happened to be a five-legged alien spider made from rock. They fell into one another’s spheres under near-impossible circumstances.

Their worlds are dying, both their species are on the cusp of extinction, and they exist into two remote parts of the galaxy. They shouldn’t have ever met, yet in the event of a plethora of terminal suns, here they are, working together, establishing a friendship and figuring out how to save their homes.

It’s an absurd and improbable encounter, yet to them, this accident becomes the norm. I love an accidental encounter, where two souls fall into one another’s orbit through chaotic chance. Maybe this is why I got so teary-eyed and invested in this peculiar intergalactic friendship.

If we stick with this thought for a little longer, there might be more logic in this than a mere “what are they odds,” vibe in my take. It’s the intergalactic angle that seems to be getting me, and it’s not something that is new to me. 

During the Christmas season, I purchased a 4k copy of Steven Spielberg’s E.T The Extra Terrestrial. It’s a movie I’ve seen countless times over, but one that still seems to reduce me into a flood of tears each time I watch it. What struck me during that December viewing, however, is the moments that seemed to open the flood gates for me.

One moment in particular, is the scene where E.T first winds up in Elliott’s bedroom. Elliot has just managed to lure this alien visitor up the stairs using the very packet of Reese’s Pieces that would kickstart the whole product placement era of mainstream entertainment. As Elliot attempts to communicate, E.T. begins to mimic the kid, mirroring every action he makes. It’s a cute, affectionate little scene, but it completely sends me into a fit of tears. Why? 

I think the answer lies in the authenticity of two remarkably distinct species forming a connection; a connection made not by ulterior motives, social contexts, shared hobbies, or the other various factors that go into influencing human relationships, but one that feels almost like a universal urge to connect. Here are two beings who’ve grown up in two remarkably different landscapes, have brains designed in completely foreign ways to one another, and should by no means have ever encountered each other. Yet here they are, forming a bond, trying to communicate with one another through mirrored behaviour. 

The same emotional response gets triggered in me when I consider this happening with two distinct terrestrial species. Think of a dog and a human. Again, two completely different lifeforms, yet can and do love one another despite the communicative and biological barriers between them. Or when you read about how cats have been known to establish friendships with Turtles, dogs, and various other species knocking about in the wild. It’s authentic and peculiar and seemingly accidental. 

Project Hail Mary essentially pulls off the same feat. It takes Grace and Rocky. When first on screen together, there’s a wrongness to them both existing in the same space. One is a water-reliant, carbon-based lifeform, whereas the other is a metallic-reliant, silicon-based entity that relies on sonar to interact with the universe.

The two shouldn’t go together, physically or psychologically. And yet, within the space of two hours and forty minutes, they bond. They care for one another, learn to communicate, problem solve as a team, and risk their lives to ensure the other one makes it home safely. It’s a level of connection that resulted in tears spilling from my overly emotional face on at least four separate occasions.

Authenticity aside for one moment, there is also another layer to this type of a story in 2026 that makes it perhaps even more relevant than it may have been, had it come out several decades prior. Project Hail Mary was made in a world that has become hostile to the point in which it’s horrifying.

Global conflicts are reaching levels not seen since the Cold War, America is run by a monster hellbent on burning the earth for his own gain, and societies are growing ever more fragmented thanks to the immortal tech bros who’ve poisoned us all with their toxic social media platforms. It isn’t a great place outdoors anymore, and frankly, the world has felt awful for quite some time. 

I’m not trying to perform the whole “back in my day, it was all sunshine and daffodils,” schtick. I know humanity has been grim throughout much of its run. What I mean is, everything feels particularly dreadful at this moment in time. As the world burns, humans burnout. Everything is all a bit hopeless at the moment, and in the midst of it all, it feels as though we’re all hiding away inside our phone screens as everything around us crumbles further. We are divided and alone, or at least it feels like that most of the time.

So to have a film which focuses on two lifeforms coming together, actually using technology to connect as opposed to isolate, and actively work in a team to stop their respective worlds from crumbling, is actually quite beautiful. It’s the polar opposite of what’s happening in our own reality right now.

An inversion of the types of narratives our media are generally selling to us in podcasts, YouTube videos, and news sites. Grace and Rocky are an antidote to the toxicity of present-day earth; a utopian idea which sells the beauty of empathy, friendship, and teamwork. It’s dizzyingly hopeful, but not in a way that feels forced, preachy or intentional. It’s just there, lingering within Weir’s text as his story chugs along. 

Because for all the times I cried, many of those moments were not the heartbroken, ugly tears that I tend to exhibit when getting emotional over cinema. A lot of them were happy, joyous tears. I left the theatre that night feeling hopeful as much as I felt vulnerable. 

Project Hail Mary isn’t a sad film in a traditional sense of the word. For the most part, it’s laugh-out-loud hilarious. Sure, it has it’s moments, but fundamentally, this is an upbeat, feel good slice of cinema. The tears come from a place of genuine love and hope. They are the byproduct of a story that’s not only downright lovely in its execution, but essential for the world we are now living in. 

I hope this film does remarkably well. I want everyone and their dogs to see this movie. Not because I want to make the studios richer, but because I want as many minds as possible to be exposed to this particular story. I think there is something genuinely important in Rocky and Grace’s relationship. There are genuinely important lessons lessons tucked within this story’s themes. Empathy is not a weakness, and there’s a chance to steer humanity back on the right course if we can spread such a philosophy as far and as wide as we can. These are the sorts of conceptual seeds that should be planted in the minds of many, because if our species is to survive the perilous turbulence the 21st century has dished up to date, we’re sure as heck going to need to start thinking a little differently about how we interact with one another. 

Who’d have thought a reluctant teacher-cum-astronaut and his pet rock had the potential to save us from the perils of World War III. 

Then again, stranger things have happened…