Amaze. Amaze. AMAZE!

Once I realized they were releasing a movie based on a book sitting in my backlog, I quickly picked it up and tried to finish it before the premiere.

I missed that deadline by a mile, but I did manage to finish the book before the film left theaters.

Project Hail Mary is based on the novel of the same name written by Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, which was released 11 years ago.

The story centers around Dr. Ryland Grace, a middle school teacher with potential expertise regarding a single-celled organism that is absorbing the energy of the sun. By absorbing that solar energy, the Earth will cool by 10 to 15 degrees, facilitating the collapse of the ecosystem and the end of humanity. Humanity’s only hope is to send its best and brightest to a nearby star system that remains unaffected in order to discover what is happening.

The movie’s greatest strength is that it not only follows the basic narrative of the book, but also preserves its emotional throughline. Andy Weir writes optimistic, science-driven stories that share the DNA of the sci-fi optimism that emerged during the early days of the Space Race and gave birth to Gene Roddenberry’s vision. Time and again, Ryland encounters problems and uses the scientific method — and mostly real science — to solve them.

Like The Martian, there is also an undercurrent of goofiness in both the characters and their interactions. Even during the most serious moments, humor is baked into the story. I know a lot of people prefer sci-fi that is completely self-serious, but the goofiness here feels human and makes Ryland deeply relatable.

While traveling through the system, Ryland discovers an alien spaceship. After several attempts at communication, the two sides finally meet and introduce themselves. Because the alien resembles a spider made of rocks, Ryland names him “Rocky.” Rocky is one of the funniest characters I have ever encountered in a book. Maybe seeing is believing, but Rocky on the big screen is just as funny while also becoming surprisingly heartwarming. His… humanity… bleeds through in every interaction and line of dialogue. He is just as sassy and blunt as he is in the book, but also more vulnerable.

Ryan Gosling brings his trademark charm and humor to the role. I have to admit that I am a huge fan of his work. Like Brad Pitt, Ryan was initially typecast as a leading man because of his looks and charisma, but he has real acting chops and clearly enjoys himself on screen when the material allows for it. I have never seen him phone in a performance. Ryan also has strong chemistry with Rocky; it is easy to suspend disbelief and invest in the relationship between these two characters.

Sandra Hüller, as Eva Stratt, channels both the deadpan humor of her counterpart from the novel and a deeper sadness beneath the surface. It feels as though she not only understands the seriousness of the situation, but carries the emotional weight of it as well. In the book, at least for me, this didn’t fully come across until near the end. In the movie, however, that sense of impending doom becomes background noise — an ever-present gloom informing nearly everything Eva says and does.

Lionel Boyce has come a long way since Odd Future and Loiter Squad. His character is not in the book and does not get much screen time, but his presence is still felt whenever he appears.

Daniel Pemberton scored the film and continues to establish himself as one of the best composers working in Hollywood today.

As an adaptation, Project Hail Mary is excellent. Translating a book to the screen requires far more than direct transcription. This movie captures the heart of the novel, and if I had to summarize Project Hail Mary in one word, that word would be “heart.”

Despite having finished the book earlier this month and knowing exactly how it ends, there were still tense moments that made my heart race. Every catastrophe, every spacewalk, and every new word or idea shared between Rocky and Ryland put a lump in my throat. I worried about them. I wanted them to succeed.

Project Hail Mary is exactly the kind of optimistic sci-fi that works on me. This movie absolutely landed for me. Produced by Amazon MGM Studios, I do not know whether it will receive a Blu-ray release, but this is exactly the type of film I want to own physically and revisit once a year.