It’s been a few weeks since Project Hail Mary came out, so I feel less awful about the copious spoilers ahead. But it’s really difficult to discuss or describe Ryan Gosling’s intergalactic science fiction dramedy without getting into what makes it intergalactic or science fiction or dramedy. So here goes. 

Right at the top, I will say we can’t talk about Project Hail Mary without talking about my previously adored ‘Interstellar’ from 2014. It’s almost exactly the same plot with a few important deviations. 

First off, it’s important to set the tone. While Project Hail Mary has some of the world-is-ending drama of Interstellar, it also takes the idea of “Whoa! What a weird exoplanet and quirky, space-time bending physics!” and cranks the imaginative possibilities up to a 14 out of 10. Seriously, the best way I’ve continued to describe this movie is if Interstellar was made by the Muppets. Or at least on a set where craft services were exclusively serving psylocibin. The colors, creatures, and conundrums that Gosling’s character, Ryland Grace, encounters are absolutely absurd, but in the most entertaining way with rich production value and a clear love for the craft of making a film that somehow makes you laugh, think, and cry. I usually have to settle for two of the three!

Secondly, as stated, the world in Project Hail Mary is also facing an existential threat of global proportions. This time, instead of a slowly collapsing ecosystem and dying crops, the sun is quickly dying. But there isn’t a plan to find an alternate exoplanet. Instead, the crew is going to investigate the one and only star in the observable universe that isn’t being consumed by these weird, microscopic organisms that Grace helps discover. All of this to say, the stakes are actually higher in Project Hail Mary because there is no plan B. 

The third thing I noticed between the two movies is the theme that beyond all of the science, technology, and the endurance of the human spirit to overcome impossible odds, love is this universal, undeniable force that will find a way to bridge insurmountable divides, be they lightyears of distance or a communication gap between a lonely astronaut and his new Fraggle Rock spider friend (that’ll make sense if you see the movie). In both movies, the deep care the characters have for their loved ones and family is the first and last motivation they need to persevere.

Now, I really liked both movies. Interstellar was, and still is, praised for its dedication to scientific accuracy. Christopher Nolan is a bit of a perfectionist after all, so why wouldn’t he make a movie that was only ever realistic, no matter how far-fetched the circumstances? Project Hail Mary, on the other hand, is also receiving very positive feedback about its dedication to physics and other scientific considerations. 

But here’s my problem – it’s not the sun eating microorganisms or the intergalactic travel which utilizes a homegrown batch of those very sun-eating thingies for propulsion. It’s not that it takes Grace approximately fifteen minutes of screen time to meet, greet, trust, and begin building a makeshift translator system for the otherworldly rock-crab accomplice he encounters. It’s not even them successfully fishing for these other critters who eat the sun-eaters and therefore create a stable and balanced ecosystem around the universe’s one surviving star. It’s none of that. 

The most unbelievable part of the movie is Ryan Gosling continuing to sell his character as this average Joe dumdum who woke up on a spaceship and approaches every problem as if he’s just going to wing it while simultaneously arriving at the exact right solution in record time. Why is this so annoying? Because by this point, he’s already been introduced as this research-reject science teacher who acts goofy for his middle school students but is actually capable enough to identify and assess the sun eaters faster than anyone else on Earth. What’s even more annoying is Gosling’s ability to pull it off! He’s just so darn charismatic. So, where McConaughey’s Cooper carried the plot of Interstellar forward with pure grit and the determination that he will see his daughter again, Gosling’s Grace perfectly orchestrates Project Hail Mary’s bizarre ability to make you laugh regularly throughout the whole saga. His timing, physicality, and the circumstances the writers put him in are somehow just as, if not more, magical than the stupefying visuals. 

The other thing that struck me as odd was that the alien he encounters, a rock-based, non-verbal spider-crab thing named Rocky, is essentially just a smarter human who just happens to be from a distant planet that shares almost none of the chemical makeup of our own. What do I mean by ‘just a human’? It’s where that love theme comes to play a big part. Rocky, like Grace, loses his entire crew on the trip to the same last-surviving-star and laments their loss in the exact same way a human would. He misses his wife and is family oriented. He reminisces about going home. You’re telling me that here on Earth alone we have countless cultural differences in the way we value honor, honesty, women, the sanctity of life, and more, but this weird Rock creature and Gosling’s character are just two peas in a pod separated only by some pesky atmospheric needs and a little sign language? But again, they just make it work so well.

Project Hail Mary is a spectacle. It’s ridiculous and absurd. It’s far-fetched. But it’s also imaginative and entertaining and fun. It’s a joy. So, if you want to go see a thrilling, visual ride of a science fiction movie without the burden of asking “Is that realistic?”, then go treat yourself to Project Hail Mary. At the very least, you get to ogle Gosling for 2 hours and 37 minutes.

Matt Hebert is an engineer and self-published author. His dopamine-fueled creative pursuits have spanned from chicken keeping, sand sculpture, acting, and public speaking, but writing is nearest and dearest to his heart. He lives in Bellevue with his wife and two daughters. You can find him on Instagram at @jerkofalltradeshebert or email him at matt.hebert.books@gmail.com

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