MOVIE THOUGHTS

PROJECT: HAIL MARY

The Earth is facing destruction. No, not the planet blowing up. The sun is dying. The world's best scientists are working on possible solutions. Personnel includes a middle school science teacher. In the end, he is sent on a 1-way mission with two others to save the world. But things go astray and the crew of 3 become 1. Or does it? Reaching a milestone destination, he discovers that human life isn't the only one in the galaxy. The two must work together in this life & death adventure to save both their worlds! The movie is, of course, based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir.

Starring Ryan Gosling, known for his role in Barbie and a certain SNL skit (amongst other movies), takes on much of the movie by himself. There are supporting actors, mostly in the numerous flashback scenes. It comes down to this, can he handle this movie by himself?

The answer to this is whether the viewer can handle Ryan Gosling. In the most simple form, the plot is straight forward. Save the Earth. Must go to space to do it.

The movie is over 2.5 hrs. The pacing ebbs and flows. I won't say the movie is entertaining, but rather, it's engaging. What saves Gosling from having to do the movie on his own is that he meets an alien. This allows him someone to talk to and react to. It's hard to say if the character is someone you want to like. He's happy with his life, he doesn't want to save the world. He sure doesn't want to go to space. He's dorky. He's nerdy. But there's an undertone of sarcasm beneath it. Yet, the relationship that forms and grows with the alien being is the engaging part as is them working to solve the problem.

Visually, it's standard sci-fi. Nothing too fantastic or out of this world. Other movies with the same vibe would be Contact, Interstellar, The Martian, and Arrival. 

It's really about the story. I usually am not like this when I watch a movie, but it was all about the story. How do they get through? Do they come up with a solution? The characters, while the focus, weren't the focus for me. They were just moving parts for the story to get told. Maybe I couldn't get invested in them and that's more on me than the actor or their acting skill. Usually, I'm more interested in the characters than the story. Being a visual guy, I like to see the events even if the story sucks. I know, that doesn't make sense.

Don't get me wrong, the interaction between Gosling and the alien were at times fun, cute, and adorable. Those scenes can keep the viewer engaged. I bring up the music. I think it was standard fare. The music got intense during the 'intense' scenes. Otherwise, it wasn't particularly memorable. In the end, it was a good attempt on Amazon's side to make a thoughtful, semi-deep sci-fi movie. I made a post on Facebook that this movie isn't for everyone. Just as Christopher Nolan movies aren't for everyone. Or Tim Burton movies. This is ME we're talking about. There's no alien forces invading Earth, no warships or space warfare, no Care Bears helping the good guys, etc. I will say this, the end scene was good. Turned it into a feel good movie and it was there, I was more interested in the exploration of everything. But that's not what the movie's about. It just allows for fans to create their own stories.