Project Hail Mary

I really loved the book Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (I read it multiple times and passed it around to several family members) so I was excited when I head about the movie adaptation.  I got to see it last night with my sister and nephew at a Thursday preview and it is my favorite movie of 2026 (so far).  Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is a disgraced molecular biologist who now teaches middle school.  When a group of scientists discover that a microorganism is attacking all of the stars in the galaxy except for Tau Ceti and that this will cause a catastrophic cooling of the Earth within 30 years, he is approached by Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller), the leader of a global task force, to study this so-called astrophage.  He finds a way to make it multiply and other scientists discover that it can be used as a powerful fuel.  A plan, dubbed Project Hail Mary, is formed to send a spacecraft powered by astrophage to Tau Ceti in order to discover how it has survived.  He wakes up from an induced coma aboard the ship without any memory of how he came to be there and is dismayed to discover that the other astronauts on board, Yao Li-Jie (Ken Leung) and Olesya Ilyukhina (Milana Vayntrub), are dead.  As his memories return, he feels inadequate but soon reaches Tau Ceti where he comes in contact with another spaceship from the planet Erid.  He eventually learns that the Eridian, who he names Rocky (James Ortiz as both voice and puppeteer), has also come to Tau Ceti for the same reason.  They realize that they must work together in order to save both of their homes.  I think this adaptation is very faithful to the book and I love the way that Rocky, the two ships, and the tunnel they build to connect them are depicted because they are surprisingly similar to the images I had in my mind while reading.  Gosling is absolutely perfect as Grace and his performance features both humor and pathos (I laughed out loud and had tears in my eyes at various times) as he discovers the bravery he didn't know he possessed and a friendship he didn't know he needed.  The visual effects are stunning, especially the vibrant imagery used in all of the sequences in space, and I love that Rocky is portrayed using practical effects rather than CGI.  Finally, this has a stand-up-and-cheer message about cooperation and friendship that is incredibly heartwarming.  I loved it so much and I highly recommend it!