One sun.
One man.
One chance to save humanity.
One adorable alien named “Rocky”.
One mission: “PROJECT HAIL MARY.”
The title of this movie has haunted my waking thoughts ever since I was shown the trailer. At first, I honestly did not expect much. I kept hearing that it was based on a book, which I had no clue existed. I immediately thought that it would be another hazardous attempt at an adaptation. Another attempt from Hollywood to find its next quick buck without having to come up with an original idea.
Safe to say that I was devastatingly wrong.
I am not exaggerating when I say this movie is one of the best to have ever been made. From the moment the projector in the theater whipped to life, I was enraptured. The colors, the setting, the characters, the emotions and the journey all captivated me.
However, a question plagued my mind, “Could only one character lead a movie?”
I found my answer two hours and thirty minutes later.
Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace, a disgraced molecular biologist turned school teacher who becomes humanity’s only chance at survival against an alien microorganism that is dimming the Sun as he awakens in space with no recollection of how he got there.
I was skeptical when I learned that Gosling would be the film’s only main character, having not experienced many movies where only one person was the story’s focus. I was used to movies where I got to know the ins and outs of several characters and learned every detail of their separate lives.
I actually felt a little fear as I walked into the theater. I worried that my experience with this highly anticipated film would be tarnished based on the depiction of a single character. Questions raced through my thoughts as I walked,
“Will I like Gosling’s character?”
“Will he be written well?”
“Will he be boring?”
The last question that entered my mind made me second-guess everything.
“Is this movie going to be worth it?”
That one question has become one that I ask almost every time I see a movie. It has caused my love of movies to diminish, and I despise that with every part of my being.
However, that skepticism, fear and despair turned into pure glee and hope as the story unfolded.
I fell in love with Dr. Ryland Grace, and it was not just because he was wearing a cardigan.
It was because I actually got to know who he was completely. Grace became much more than just a character in a movie to me. As the plot unfolded, I began to see him as an actual person. One with fears, hopes, dreams, faults, ambitions and desires. I saw a man.
I saw a man with happiness, sadness, wit, awkwardness, desperation and bravery. I saw a man placed in unfortunate circumstances. I saw a man with immense pressure weighing on him. I saw a man become a savior despite not wanting to be the one to do it.
A hero born from selfishness. That is Ryland Grace’s hero arc, and it is another reason I loved the movie.
Most heroes are proclaimed to have been born or blessed with bravery, righteousness and courage. They are born with true intentions. They think about others before themselves and are willing to risk it all. Superman, Captain America, Hercules and Wonder Woman are a few examples. Ryland Grace is not.
In the beginning, Grace was not one to jump into danger for others. He was not one to do something solely for the good of it. Honestly, he was cowardly and selfish, but those characteristics were reborn among the stars. They became reborn when he began his epic bromance with Rocky, an alien who is also trying to figure out why his planet’s sun is dying.
The forged bond between Ryland and Rocky was a turning point in the movie. From a movie about a desperate man who is trying to escape his circumstances was born a movie about two friends trying to help one another save their homes. Their courage and bravery were not born from supernatural abilities, trauma or a miracle. It was created through friendship (which solidified the idea that friendship is magic for me). Two beings from worlds apart who share a common goal of saving those who are counting on them. Two friends who learn they can be heroes together.
This film truly was a wonderful experience. It helped renew my love for movies, and whether you like sci-fi movies or not, this movie deserves the chance to be seen.
I had one thought leaving that theater, and it is best said by Rocky,
“Amaze!”
