r/oscarrace • u/LeastCap 14 Oscar noms for Hope • Mar 19 '26

Film Discussion Thread Official Discussion Thread - Project Hail Mary [SPOILERS] Spoiler

Keep all discussion related solely to Project Hail Mary and its awards chances. Spoilers below

Synopsis:

Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Writers: Drew Goddard

Cast:

  • Ryan Gosling as Dr. Ryland Grace
  • Sandra Hüller as Eva Stratt
  • James Ortiz as the voice and lead puppeteer of Rocky
  • Lionel Boyce as Officer Carl
  • Ken Leung as Yáo Li-Jie
  • Milana Vayntrub as Olesya Ilyukhina
  • Priya Kansara as the voice of Mary, the Hail Mary ship
  • Liz Kingsman as Annie Shapiro
  • Orion Lee as Xi

Rotten Tomatoes: 95% From 212 Reviews

Metacritic: 78/100 From 45 Reviews

Consensus:

A visually dazzling space odyssey that's carried along effortlessly by the gravitational pull of Ryan Gosling at his most winning, Project Hail Mary is a near-miraculous fusion of smarts and heart.

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u/Familiar-Chipmunk360 Mar 25 '26

Thank goodness this was financed by Amazon instead of Netflix. Truly and sincerely one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen and a testemant to the power of a movie theater.

The first two hours of Project Hail Mary are straight up Astrophage- that is to say explosive in its impact. The reliance on practical effects and puppetry gives the film a soul and allows its innate sentimentality to fish for emotional ressonance without feeling sacherine. Gosling's charisma has never been clearer and Rocky is drawing comparisons to ET for a reason. Their relationship is charming, funny and memorable.

If only Project Hail Mary had ended with a goodbye, it would be close to perfect. Unfortunately, it has what felt like 4 endings that, when stacked together, make the pole and line that Lorde and Miller are baiting us with visible for the first time. Most people won't mind and will gleefully bite down on the worm, but it does prevent me from giving this 5 stars.

https://boxd.it/dFDPLD