Project Hail Mary is some top-shelf nostalgia. And it doesn’t signal especially happy days ahead for film culture that some of the greatest skill and effort is being funnelled into giving a modern film like this the illusion it was released in 1979. Does that covertly reinforce the idea that analogue filmmaking is an artefact of the past? As opposed to something that can be integrated into a more modern style?
That’s something to worry about another time. Here’s a film that’s about as effervescently likeable as it can get. In it, Ryan Gosling becomes best buds with an alien, as they put aside all cultural and linguistic barriers to save their respective planets from a sun-gobbling threat. It’s an alchemically perfected blend of past sci-fi greats, with a good dose of Spielberg and Kubrick – familiar without feeling exhausted.
