“Project Hail Mary” hit the box office on March 20 and is already Amazon MGM’s highest grossing film after just two weeks in theaters. Based on the sci-fi novel of the same name, the movie stunned all viewers, regardless of their familiarity with the book. 

The rights for the movie were acquired in 2020 although Andy Weir, the author, would not publish the book until 2021. Weir’s reputation preceded him after experiencing massive literary success with his other novels, particularly “The Martian.” The story of a humorous science teacher, Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, and a sarcastic alien, Rocky, captured MGM’s attention off the bat. 

“Project Hail Mary” perfectly blends the thrill of science fiction with the good feelings of a “buddy” movie. Viewers laugh until they can’t breathe and then cry even more. Many moviegoers did not expect to experience such strong feelings over a rock, but the sniffling in the theater certainly indicated emotional impact. Additionally, the movie amazes with its technical aspects, as little to no green screen technology or CGI was used in the creation of the film. Instead, the crew utilized technical tricks and masterpieces to construct Grace’s ship, the incredible red “astrophage” scene, and other parts of the movie. Rocky was a real puppet, mastered and voiced by James Ortiz, allowing for scenes to contain authentic connection between the actors and therefore the characters.

Apart from its humor and drama, the movie also challenges the audience’s belief in humanity. Weir forces us to consider just how much a human life is worth through the sacrifices Grace and his astronaut colleagues make in order to save Earth. Can it be justified to force someone to go off on a supposed suicide mission if there is a possibility they could save the human race? Furthermore, with the character of Rocky, an alien who pilots a mission to save the “Eridian” race, Weir constructs a complicated portrayal of the very idea of humanity. Although Rocky treats Grace with respect and kindness throughout the whole movie, the humans back on Earth do the opposite with Grace during a pivotal moment in the movie. In fact, in a stroke of genius, Weir directly contrasts the two aforementioned scenes with parallel dialogue between Grace and Rocky and Grace and the leader of the “Project Hail Mary” expedition. This contrast highlights how an alien could be more humanizing towards someone he doesn’t even share biology with when compared to the level of manipulation Grace’s colleagues displayed towards the scientist. They were meant to be saving humanity but somehow ended up acting with less kindness towards Grace by putting the pressure of the world on his shoulders.

The parallels between “Project Hail Mary” and the current day are distinct. The Artemis II mission launched just 12 days after the release of the movie. In both the movie and real life, a group of astronauts was sent into space on a risky mission. Although the Artemis crew did not meet any awesome aliens, the impact of Project Hail Mary followed them, with the crew quoting some moments from the movie, such as “Amaze, amaze, amaze!” Thankfully, all four Artemis crew members returned safely, but the timing of both the mission and the movie can’t be ignored and begs the question, “What else can ‘Project Hail Mary’ teach us about the current world?”