PROJECT HAIL MARY

If you came away from 'The Martian' thinking that what it really needed was for dour Matt Damon to lighten up and be replaced by Ryan Gosling, and to have a creature made of rocks as a companion, then this is the film for you.  

Instead of being stranded on Mars, Gosling's character (maverick scientist Ryland Grace) is out in the Tau Ceti star system, trying to work out why that star isn't dimming whilst our Sun is.  The Sun is losing energy due to some pesky micro-critters (called Astrophage) appearing from nowhere and taking a one-way trip from the Sun to Venus.  

This is going to lead to catastrophic consequences for humanity, which is why the jokey tone of this film sometimes rubbed me up the wrong way.  For example, there's an early scene where Grace and a companion go to a DIY store to buy some kit with which to conduct an experiment on the Astrophage, and in case the audience might find this boring they of course have to do some clowning about.  

The fact that Grace hasn't been given any assistants, or that he doesn't use better materials, or that his companion appears to be some kind of security guard whose ubiquitous presence is never explained, all irritated me.  OK, maybe I'm the one that needs to lighten up.

Anyway, back to Tau Ceti, where said rock creature (dubbed 'Rocky' obviously) turns up, on the same mission as Grace but on behalf of its home planet.  Although initially they can't communicate (what with them being totally different life forms and all) Grace shows Rocky a clock and before you can say 'Ben Grimm' they're getting along just fine.  

Most of the film is taken up with them working together to save their respective species, which is entertaining enough, interspersed with occasional flashbacks to Grace's time as part of the team putting the mission together.  In charge of the mission is Sandra Hüller whose thankless task it is to keep Grace focussed.

It's a long film (150 minutes) but this didn't bother me until the final scenes, starting from when Grace and Rocky say their goodbyes.  As far as I was concerned the film could have ended at this point but instead we get several more scnes, which I found rushed and confusing.  

This is one of those films where inevitably an ignoramus like me came away with loads of stupid questions which showed I wasn't paying nearly enough attention:

Why didn't the backup crew include a scientist?

Why does Grace appear to be no older at the end of the film than at the start?

What was Grace going to live on, on the long journey home?

What does he live on during the journey to Rocky's planet?

How come he has enough fuel to get both his ship and Rocky's ship to Rocky's planet?

Do I believe that Rocky can make a 5km metal chain out of thin air?

Reading the plot summary for the source novel helped me fill in some of the gaps, but I was left wishing there was a scene or two in the film where the science stuff is explained more fully (instead of say a scene at a DIY store - just saying) - where's Michael Caine and his blackboard when you need him?

That being said, the screenwriter has done a good job of converting what sounds like a densely plotted science-based story into a mainstream entertainment, and overall I had a good enough time.  The story is original and intriguing, Gosling is always watchable, it's well directed, some of the visuals are breath-taking, the one action sequence is exciting, and I did laugh from time to time (especially at the Meryl Streep reference).

However it says something about me that my favourite scene is a simple one between Hüller and Gosling in her office, where there are no jokes but instead there is some real emotion.

RATING: ✓ Cheers