Sci-fi is a hard genre to crack. They can be just silly, as proven with this year’s Mercy, or far too cerebral, as with Interstellar. Thankfully, writer Andy Weir has found that balance of science and fun. His previous film outing for one of his novels, The Martian, turned out to be Ridley Scott’s lightest movie to date, with Matt Damon trapped on Mars and growing potatoes using his own poo. Now we have Project Hail Mary, another one of Weir’s books that has been sent to the big screen, and while there is plenty for the science fans to chew over, it is a rollocking adventure that is more about human nature than about quantum physics.

Ryland Grace is a science teacher who is recruited for a mission to save the sun from slowly dying. Without any understanding why, he finds himself stranded on a spaceship millions of light-years away from home and the only one who can come up with a solution to save the Earth. While on this mission, he finds another craft with an alien on board, and the pair form an unlikely friendship.

The team behind the 21 Jump Street movies and The Lego Movie, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller take to the helm of this movie, and while it still has plenty of the characteristics that made their previous movies so much fun, this is a much more controlled affair, focusing on the human side of the story while refusing to water down the complex science sections. Yet unlike Interstellar, which bamboozled the audience with its theories about black holes and time travel, this is served up gently, so that for some reason, it all makes perfect sense.

Where the film works best in the depiction of this lone teacher, out in space, trying to navigate his way through the workings of the machine he has no understanding about, while trying to fathom the reason for the demise of the sun, and then coming face to face with a rock creature who is also a solo pilot and has the exact same mission. Communication between the two is an issue, and eventually, in one of the more contrived moments, they find software that they can talk to each other, and Grace names this alien Rocky.

Interwoven with the adventures in space are the events that led to Grace being sent up to save the Earth. A straight-faced NASA agent, Eva Stratt, tries to convince him that he is the only one to find the answer to the questions that everyone else is struggling with. It could have been annoying to bounce between timelines, but, strangely, it works and doesn’t become a distraction.

The heart of the film is the friendship that grows between two beings from two very different places, and that if you are in a situation where destruction could occur, it is better to join forces than battle each other. This is where Lord and Miller score highly. The relationship is both funny and sometimes quite poignant, and even though Rocky is a puppet, you find yourself forgetting that, and it becomes a joy to listen to the pair banter and share an odd bromance.

For the relationship to work, you need an actor you can trust, and Ryan Gosling just comes across as the nicest man in the world. We know he can handle comedy, as proven in films like The Nice Guys and his constant appearances on Saturday Night Live, but he has so much screen charisma that you immediately warm to him. As Eva Stratt, Anatomy of a Fall star, Sandra Huller is perfect, with a deadpan delivery and a cold but logical approach to the project. She also has one of the film’s highlights: a karaoke version of Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times.”

Project Hail Mary is a delight. A big blockbuster that has plenty of heart, plenty of peril and loads of laughs. You find yourself smiling throughout, and when you leave, you hope that if the planet is on the path to destruction, Gosling and Rocky are there to save it. One of the most entertaining sci-fi movies in years.

4 out of 5

Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung, Priya Kansara, Mia Soteriou, Annelle Olaleye

Written by: Drew Goddard and (based on the novel) Andy Weir

Running Time: 156 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 20th March 2026