by: Nelson Kramer
Editor in Chief

You awake to a robot talking to you. You’re in a white room, surrounded by advanced technology, with two dead bodies to your left and right. Barely able to move, you manage to get up and figure out you are traveling on a spacecraft circling an unknown star. You realize you are the sole survivor of a three-person mission to save the world from a sun-eating amoeba called astrophage. This is the opening to the book and now-adapted movie Project, Hail Mary.

Following the fifth anniversary of Project Hail Mary, the latest book release by author Andy Weir, the movie adaptation written by Drew Goddard and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller hit theaters on Mar. 20. In only its opening weekend, it has blown past all expectations and proven itself to be one of the most successful book and film adaptations of our generation.

The story follows a middle-school science teacher whose true vocation is to save the world. Armed with his wit, problem-solving skills, and humor, the protagonist, Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, is the movie’s biggest draw for fans of the book and first-time viewers alike. Although this movie was exhilarating to watch in theaters, I can agree with Weir’s thoughts on the over-emphasis the marketing team put on Rocky, an alien the protagonist meets in space, as such a big part of stirring up hype for this film. With such a perfectly optimistic and driven protagonist, more questions arise about the necessity of emphasizing Rocky’s character so heavily in the marketing for this movie.

Gosling preforms the role of Ryland Grace to perfection, who balances his suicidal mission with humor that keeps the story moving at an exhilarating pace. Working with a great soundtrack that sets the emotional tone for the movie’s heavy, awe-inspiring moments, the witty, funny side of how Grace solves science problems cannot be overstated enough.

Working within a budgeted run-time of two and a half hours, the on-screen adaptation is jam-packed with tiny details from the novel, and while some critique the missing feeling evoked from the endless sciencey explanations of the book, the screenwriters managed to keep the integrity of the original story. This film truly served the book’s diehard fans; even without explicitly explaining the story’s logical reasoning or scientific experimentation, it still delivered a story just as compelling as the one on the page.

Weir, otherwise known as the genius behind this story, along with the screenwriters, directors, and producers of the film, have brought us a slice of optimism we rarely see in modern fiction and sci-fi. From the protagonist pulling off the impossible while staying as funny as ever, to a story of true friendship, love, and respect for two beings from such different backgrounds and planets, Project Hail Mary is the epitome of an instant modern classic.