A refreshing take on the sci-fi savior genre

Project Hail Mary was released on March 20, 2026 and was an instant success. The movie is based on Andy Weir’s book and is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It stars Ryan Gosling who is also the main producer of Project Hail Mary.  

In our opinion, where Project Hail Mary really shines is with its cinematography by Oscar winning cinematographer Greig Fraser. Fraser is no stranger to capturing space on camera with his work on both Dune movies, but Project Hail Mary posed a unique challenge of being set almost entirely in space rather than in some otherworldly planet. In most portrayals, outer space is a colorless void of a backdrop but Fraser took this blank canvas and filled it full of color and character. The most visually striking and creative sequence of the whole film was when Grace is staring at Tau Ceti and turns on the astrophage sensor filling the screen with an array of brilliant otherworldly lights. Fraser achieved this shot by cutting off the IR filter on an Alexa 65 Camera and attaching infrared blinking LED’s to chicken wire all while pouring water in front of the camera to add a flowing shimmering effect. The effort put into this shot alone showcases just how much care and fidelity Greig Fraser had while handling an adaptation of such a beloved book.

Spencer Oberle ‘29 said “I think it’s a very interesting movie with cool concepts. I like how the aliens in it resemble an inanimate object & it’s cool to see the evolution of Grace over the time he is alone.”

The movie remained very faithful to the book but as is true for all movie adaptations of books, they weren’t able to include EVERYTHING from it(Light spoiler warning). Two of the scenes we were most upset about being cut from the movie was when Stratt decided to bomb Antarctica in order to create more greenhouse gasses and speed up global warming to counteract the cooling of the Earth and them having to cover the Sahara Desert in solar panels in order to get enough fuel for their mission. In our opinion, the desperation and utter hopelessness the world felt didn’t translate as well from the book to the screen as we would’ve liked and we feel like these scenes could’ve really helped with that. The Hail Mary ship from the books was also much more claustrophobic which aided the desperate feeling but we understand the need to upscale for filming purposes.

Jagger Smith ‘26 said “I think that Project Hail Mary is a modern classic for science fiction and will go down in history as one of the best comedic/drama/science fiction movies of all time.”

Project Hail Mary is also a reminder of how important companionship is to society and we can solve problems easier when we have help from our friends. Besides just friendship and companionship, it also shows all the nations of the world coming together, which may seem unrealistic but also can fill someone with hope for mankind. In a time where much of the media is sad and pessimistic about the world we live in it can feel like a breath of fresh air to see a movie so full of hope and optimism for the future and humanity as a whole. The addition of “Two of Us” by the Beatles adds to the message of the movie and the overall vibe, and gives the movie a nostalgic feel.The movie also hinges on Ryan Gosling’s fantastic performance, there’s not a single scene that he’s not in. The whole movie would completely fall apart without him and his dedication, using his charm and talent he is able to portray laughing in the face of despair.  

The movie feels like a love letter to many of the sci-fi films before it, like E.T, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arrival, Contact, Alien and many many more. Additionally, Project Hail Mary made 613 million worldwide, which is three times their budget of 200 million, which I think proves how big of a hit this movie was, not only to the USA but also to the world. This is a movie that makes you want to go to movies, it’s not a cash grab or a sequel, it’s a movie full of thought and love, and that’s what we need more of in cinema.