Project Hail Mary (2026)

Project Hail Mary

• I have literally no idea where to start. There are so many thoughts swirling in my head and I feel so mentally drained, but like, in the best possible way. It certainly takes a toll, for two big reasons: you go through every emotion ever, and it is so visually stunning and impactful that you can’t help but devote every ounce of energy into absorbing it. Much like the Taumoeba devouring the Astrophage, my brain absorbed every detail of this film. I read the book beforehand, which almost instantly became my favorite book ever, and I think this is one of the best book-to-film adaptations I’ve ever seen. The book is extremely detailed, and the screenplay does an OUTSTANDING job of covering all major events, while still keeping everything moving forward quickly and not being too overwhelming. Extremely good work by Drew Goddard. I’ll say this: reading the book was very smart on my part, because I didn’t feel like I had to learn new information when watching this. Rather than trying to keep up or anything, I could just go back and enjoy the filmmaking aspects, and to me, THAT’s what made it such a phenomenal experience. It is my absolute recommendation to read the book first. Moving on, the physical production was extremely evident and what sells the film. Using actual sets and props to bring the Hail Mary (and Rocky, of course) to life is what makes this so special. It’s all about being authentic and lifelike, not just green screens. That being said, there’s a perfect balance of physical and visual effects. The VFX are wildly impressive and among the best of the entire century. There are some shots where my heart literally jumped and my body felt heavy because of how beautiful it was. Greig Fraser is the best cinematographer working right now, and you can certainly see his style in this. I love that man so much. It’s such a distinctive looking film that stands out above any other sci-fi film that’s come out recently. The score is generationally good, and the most underrated aspect of the whole thing. It’s so gorgeous and adds a certain depth to the more tense (and intimate) scenes. But overall, every aspect of this project is completely perfect in every sense. Fight me if you disagree. I might even go as far to say that it’s the closest a sci-fi film has gotten to having the same look and feeling as Kubrick’s ‘2001’. I would recommend this to every single person that has ever existed. And READ THE BOOK! The book is phenomenal, the film is phenomenal, everything is phenomenal. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go see it IN THEATERS NOW!