I love space. I love stars, planets and all of its possibilities. Despite my love for space, I see no viable future in it for me since I’m bad at math and I don’t like flying (hitting all the criteria of the world’s worst astronaut). So, when I got the opportunity to see Project Hail Mary—in IMAX no less—I leapt at the chance. 

Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), an ex-scientist turned middle-school teacher who finds himself trapped aboard a spaceship light-years away from Earth. Grace soon realises he has been sent on this mission because a mysterious organism is eating the sun and, in turn, snuffing out the heat from Earth one degree at a time. 

As he reaches his destination, the one star that hasn’t been infected by the heat-leeching organisms, he is met with a small, craggy alien named “Rocky”, also sent on a mission to save his own planet from imminent, icy death. From there, the two form a buddy-comedy bond, saving their worlds one joke at a time. Rocky is the mechanic to Grace’s scientist, sharing quips and growing closer as they pick apart speculative scientific theory to find a solution to their inter-galactic heating issue. 

Through the movie, we ping-pong between Grace’s time on the spaceship and flashbacks to his time on Earth, where he meets Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller)—the authoritative team leader and the driving force behind the space project. We unravel the secondary mystery of how Grace found himself on the ship, and how they even managed to fly a spaceship that far away from Earth. 

Clad in science-pun t-shirts the entire way through, Gosling does a wonderful job striking a balance between complicated science and the snark that seems built into Grace’s DNA. It’s a type of humour that isn’t too far removed from the one-liners he delivers as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. We’ve seen that he has the skill for humour, and this only continues to improve in Project Hail Mary. 

But the movie doesn’t just rely on his comedy chops. Gosling produces some of the most vulnerable acting I’ve seen as he grapples with isolation and grief. Early in the movie, Grace stands in the airlock, sobbing into his hand as he says goodbye to the crewmates who passed away before they could make it to their destination. 

Back on Earth, Hüller’s performance as Stratt reinforces the stakes of the mission. A third of the population will starve, and the Earth’s temperature will drop 15 degrees if no one does anything to stop it. It becomes clear that Stratt is willing to do whatever it takes to save humanity, even if it means sending astronauts to their deaths.

Spearheaded by filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, of Spider-Verse and The Lego Movie fame, Project Hail Mary contains all the hallmarks I’ve come to expect of their movies. Gorgeously framed shots, bright pops of colour and a cinematic flair that legitimately brought tears to my eyes. They clearly had a vision in mind—each shot feels carefully put together to maximise slack-jawed awe at the beauty of space and to tug at your heartstrings.

Composer Daniel Pemberton provides swelling violins and resonant steel drums that make space feel ethereal. Space isn’t void of light or sound, as so many other movies make it out to be. Instead, it’s not quite as scary as you think it would be. It heralds a new form of science fiction, one that is warm even in its vastness. Still, space stops for no one. Planets keep spinning, gravity keeps working and science is still science. The result is a movie that is simultaneously high-stakes and comforting, thrilling and heartwarming.

It’s a strange mixture, to be sure, but one that I wasn’t unhappy about in the slightest. Project Hail Mary is a journey, both emotionally and physically, and one that I was amazed by every step of the way.

Project Hail Mary is now playing in Australian cinemas.