Project Hail Mary (The Movie)

Since my wife and I missed seeing the movie "Project Hail Mary" on the big screen when it was first released, we were glad to see that it had come to a streaming service that we subscribed to.

First, for those of you unfamiliar with the movie, it is based on a book written by Andy Weir. And for those unfamiliar with Andy Weir, he is also the author of The Martian, which was made into a movie starring Matt Damon, and was released the year following the publication of the book, in 2015. 

In the case of "Project Hail Mary", a little more time passed from the book release to the movie; book published 2021, movie released this year. Just to complete the thought, after researching Weir, I decided to search for other books he wrote and found "Artemis". Both myself and my wife have now read it and we recommend it although, while like The Martian and Project Hail Mary it is a futuristic novel, and all the action takes place in space, in the case of Artemis, on the moon, the main character is not a man, and is not a story that exalts American space exploration and/or the ingenuity and dominance that has been the history of space travel; just in case that matters to you.

So, back to "Project Hail Mary".

The basic premise of the movie is that scientists have discovered that the sun, our sun, is dying, which means that human life on Earth is at risk. An obscure high school teacher who had postulated a theory about the science behind the sun's dying is recruited to embark on a mission to a place many light years away where there appears to be a solar system with the existence of the same deadly material but that is not, apparently, in danger. 

The mission, of course, is called Project Hail Mary as even those who believe in the possibility that their assumptions are correct and that there may be a way to figure out and replicate whatever is unique that is protecting this planet, they also realize that the chances of actually accomplishing this feat are low. For those of you who don't know why the term Hail Mary means long shot, the most obvious example is in American football when the quarterback flings the ball as far as he can on the last play of the game in hopes of a miracle catch and touchdown. The fact that such a play has actually worked a few times, even though the other team knows it is coming, makes it even more of a miracle. 

Now, to be honest, when I used the word recruited, that was an misnomer as the main character, Ryland Grace, as played by Ryan Gosling, is actually drugged and kidnapped, then sent on the mission, a fact that becomes clear to him not right away, so also not right away to the audience. The fact that the two other astronauts sent with him have died during the long hibernation, also doesn't help.  

When an alien spacecraft docks with Grace's, he realizes that it is made of a material that is totally foreign to life on Earth, and that, in fact, the alien itself is made of what appears to be rock, so naturally, Grace calls him Rocky. As it turns out, Rocky is also the last being alive on his space ship, which was also on a mission to save his own planet from the same fate as Earth.

Grace and Rocky figure out a way to communicate, then actually solve the question as to why the planet they have traveled to seems immune to the catastrophe that is effecting every other planet. 

To be honest, it is a cute story, the tried and true man meets rock, man and rock bond tale. Considering that so many Earthlings are caught up in the hate and kill cycle, even though we share virtually all of the same DNA (especially when compared to a man and a rock), one could connclude that the author (and movie producer) wish to teach by example. Of course, there are those that might consider such a story "woke", which even makes the lesson more relevant. I mean, can you imagine, a man forming a relationship with a rock without discussing religion, and an alien to boot, most likely with no papers.

To further hammer home the analogy, during the attempt to capture the element that appears to be the reason why this star is immune to the galaxy wide dilemma, Grace becomes unconscious and it appears that he will perish. Rocky, having joined Grace on his ship, is encased in a bubble that allows him to maneuver around without suffering from the damaging effects of oxygen. 

In true Hollywood fashion, Rocky breaks out of his bubble and saves Grace but appears to die in the process. But only temporarily, as Rocky just needed some time to recuperate. The friends then part ways, each on their way to their home planet with the cure in hand. But then Grace realizes that the cure has breached the breeding tanks and is consuming his fuel, but worse, that the same thing will happen to Rocky except that he and his ship are made of the material that is being destroyed, and that Rocky will not have a way to alter the tragedy that awaits him. 

Grace sends the miraculous info back to earth along with the samples, then reverses course to overtake Rocky's ship, even though he knows that he won't have enough fuel to return to Earth. Self sacrifice for an entity as unlike himself as one could imagine. Talk about a lesson from the Mount!

In the end, Earth is saved from the prospect of the dying sun, and Grace is built an earth-like biodome on Rocky's home planet where he teaches Science to Eridian children. A teacher again.

Now, I haven't read the book, so I have no way of knowing how true to the movie it is. But, assuming it is relatively close to the book's intent, it is certainly a feel-good movie of the highest order. And, like The Martian, has a happy ending.

Speaking of which, Artemis also has a happy ending.  

I am glad that Weir prefers happy endings to his space books, considering all the crap happening all around us on our home planet. And, at least for "Project Hail Mary", the alien is kind, not like those in Independence Day. 

I watched the end of "Earth Girls Are Easy" starring Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum yesterday. To be honest, I never saw it all the way through, and after watching it, I hadn't really missed much. Except, again, the aliens were nice guys. 

I hope that as the broadcast signals of movies like "Project..." make their way through the vastness of space, that they bring a message of peace to any civilization that receives them. That they represent Earth to them as a place with people that would be good spacemates, good neighbors, a civilized people. Kind of like the aliens in "Galaxy Quest" who, even though they thought that Gilligan's Island was real, looked upon us as people to meet, perhaps even be friends. 

Wouldn't that be a kick, that we end up with a better reputation outside our solar system than we seem to have among ourselves here on Earth.