Project Hail Mary could teach humanity a thing or two

It's hard not to find the premise of Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary instantly compelling: Something is slowly killing the sun and threatening life on Earth.

That same mysterious force, dubbed the Astrophage, also destroyed every nearby star — except one.

Our only hope is to visit that solar system and figure out what helped it survive.

And there's just one middle school science teacher who can do it.

At its core is Weir's love of technical problem solving, along with a tremendous performance by Ryan Gosling in full nerd hero mode as the aforementioned science teacher (and former molecular biologist).

It's the sort of sweeping sci-fi epic that will make a whole generation of kids ready to science the shit out of humanity's future problems.

And maybe it'll remind clueless adults that we gain much more by working together to solve global issues, instead of being purely self-interested.

There's something genuinely moving about the mission.

With about 30 years before the planet is faced with a global cooling event likely ending in mass starvation, Earth's major political powers put aside their differences and deliver their finest scientific minds to come up with a solution.

You can really take your pick with real-world parallels, like the impending climate crisis, or the increasing threat of nuclear war.

Simply seeing the world work together feels meaningful in these bleak times.

And unlike other space disaster films like Armageddon and Interstellar, cooperation, rather than NASA alone, is the only way forward.

While we get brief glimpses of life on Earth, and the planning of Project Hail Mary, for the vast majority of the film we're just left with Grace figuring things together with a rock alien.

And yet, the film never drags.

It's a testament to Gosling's inherent charm, but he also demonstrates an incredible ability to shift from joy and goofiness, to sheer terror, to leading-man heroics on a dime.

It's also hard to take your eyes off of Rocky, who is rendered with a loving mixture of practical puppetry and CG.

We've never seen a creature like them before – one that, despite having no eyes or mouth, manages to connect with viewers mostly through their very expressive arms.

Project Hail Mary is ultimately a work of pulp sci-fi as told by an author who loves deeply nerdy technical solutions, as well as a writer and directors who know precisely what makes a great blockbuster tick.

But the notion that humanity can collectively come together to do the impossible always tugs at my heartstrings a bit.

And yes, there’s the power of friendship, too.

In this moment, when things seem particularly bleak, these ideas seem especially meaningful.