Project Hail Mary ***

I might be the only person on the planet who wasn’t over the moon with this one.

If you pull back, Project Hail Mary is recycled material orbiting space: the survival practically of The Martian, the high-stakes mission to save the sun (Sunshine), the visceral loneliness of Gravity, the E.T. factor, and the squeamish saccharine of Flight of the Navigator. 

The only things missing from Interstellar and Arrival are Ryan Gosling’s charm and impish grin. Otherwise, they are far superior movies. I might need to accept that I’m getting older, and today’s Ryan Gosling might be the Brad Pitt of my 90s evolution in movie watching—looks before nuance.

Other than a stellar film score and a standout performance by Sandra Hüller, this was a mild trip to space for me, but I’m happy for the film’s box office numbers and spring break hype from my students who think it is the best movie in the world.

I prefer the cinematic language and explorative innocence of anything Spielberg.

What did you think? Am I the lone astronaut?