Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of March 16, 2026
Project Hail Mary
Rated PG-13 for suggestive references and some thematic material
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
In Theaters
Based on Andy Weir’s best-selling sci-fi novel, Project Hail Mary tells the story of an astronaut and scientist named Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) who wakes up in space to find his crew is dead and he is the only one left who can study why the sun is dying and what can be done to save it. While at the study point in space, he comes across another life form in the same predicament who is trying to save his own planet from the dying sun. The two become instant friends and scientific colleagues as they try to work together to find a solution to save their respective planets. There is so much to love about Andy Weir’s stories. The last major motion picture based on his work, The Martian, was a thrilling tale that blended strong emotional content with hardcore science fiction. Now this one takes it up a notch. From the opening moments where Dr. Grace wakes up in space, you get the full sense of the mission, it’s importance to mankind, and how immensely difficult it will be to accomplish the feat. Through a series of flashbacks, you get to know exactly what gets him to his current situation and why he is the perfect person to be there. He is a brilliant man who wants nothing more than to find the truth, but who also knows that the truth can get you into a little trouble. Or a lot of trouble. He is like most of us, at least in spirit, which allows the audience to more closely connect and empathize with his plight. And then you get the story with Rocky, which just makes the movie that much more special. While there are other actors in the movie, including Oscar-nominated Sandra Hüller, this really is the Ryan Gosling show, and he delivers here like no one else could. I can’t even think of another actor for this role after seeing this. On short videos and even SNL, the joke is that the movie is like Interstellar meets E.T., which is a moderately cringy Hollywood formula idea. I wouldn’t exactly say that this is accurate but being that Interstellar and E.T. are two of my favorite films of all time, to strive for such a thing, while still making an incredible film that stands on its own, is a wonderful endeavor. My only critique is that the film is a bit too long. I’m not even sure what I’d cut, but it does lag just a bit. But that fault is completely forgivable given that you get such a remarkable experience out of it. And for the most part, the film is family friendly too, allowing it to hit the four quadrants probably better than any movie in years. I really do get a sense that this will go down as one of the great sci-fi classics of our lifetimes. A