Project Hail Mary

 

        Writer Andy Weir, author of  "The Martian", which was turned into a terrific film with a screenplay by Drew Goddard and Andy Weir, now has his second novel  released as another terrific film, again with a solo screenplay by Drew Goddard. The significance does not go unnoticed. Mr. Goddard has a great feel for the source material but has a knack for removing the science and math heavy plot points of the novel and making the film more accessible for a wide audience without sacrificing the story.

        Co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller bring the story to life in an incredible way. The visuals are wonderful, and while filmed in IMAX, the scenes on Earth are shot in a different ratio making the space scenes even more remarkable. They also make a bold choice to refrain from rendering the  "Rocky" character in CGI and instead, he is a very life-like puppet. This adds an important layer to the emotional core of the story.

         When it is discovered the Sun is slowly dying, a team is assembled to visit a far away star that seems to be immune to the problem. Ryan Gosling stars as Dr. Grace, a scientist who figures out the problem and ends up on a spaceship to find a solution. Once he meets "Rocky", a alien sent from his planet for the same reason, the film becomes part science fiction drama and part cosmic buddy comedy. Mr. Gosling is the perfect actor to covey the comedy aspect as well as the dramatic and emotional parts of the film. He carries the film admirably. 

           Mr. Lord and Mr. Christopher intersperse the space scenes with flashbacks back on Earth with a flow that fills in many of the story gaps. My one criticism is that the directors appear to love their film so much, they avoid excess editing which would have tightened the film and avoided tedious scenes. 

           The film co-stars Sandra Huller as Eva Stratt, the director of Project Hail Mary and she is an excellent choice for the character. James Ortiz provides the eventual voice for "Rocky" and Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung and Milana Vayntrub also have smaller but important parts.

            This is an old fashioned Sci-Fi adventure that readers of the book will love and fans of the genre will certainly appreciate.