🎬 2026 Movie Review #17 | Project Hail Mary (2026) 🎥

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This blog is a personal journal of all the movies, Tv-Shows, & Games I consume during a year which enhances my overall experience. The ratings that I give are fully based on my personal preference and enjoyment at the time of watching and I'm writing spoiler-free reviews. (All liquid earnings are used to get extra Hive Power Delegations!)

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2025 Movies Marathon

I have grown a bit of a tradition in January to watch all the 'Youtuber Top 10 Films Of The Year' videos to catch up with everything that was potentially good in the previous year. We are now 4 months into 2026 and I'm pretty much done with 2025 Movies feeling that I watched the ones I really wanted to see. From here on out, I will watch the occasional 2026 movie but more importantly work trough the massive backlog I have of older movies that I still want to watch...

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As someone who is somewhat of a Science nerd, this space sci-fi movie was one I had quite high hopes on even though I kept my expectations low in the hope to be blown away. I love space movies and they also bring something extra when watching them on the big screen. Apparently this movie is an adaptation of a popular book by the writer of The Martian which is one of the Space movies along with Insterstellar which put the benchmark super high for Project Hail Mary. This comparison is not working in favor of this one as those are just on another level. Another kind of hidden Gem in space movies is Moon but it's far less of a specatcle.

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Going To The Movies

I kind of can't believe that the year is 4 months in and this was the first and only movie that I went to see along with a friend in the Cinema. It's a combination of not that many movies these days that really are worth it, and high prices while it often is a matter of weeks before I can already see it on my big screen tv is good quality that is hurting the movie theaters. I do plan to go see the Michael Jackson biopic, and also look forward to go see Backrooms, & Disclosure Day while I'm in Thailand when they are released and maybe a couple more as I will stay for 2 months there and it likely will be a good way to keep cool during the day.

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Project Hail Mary (7.5/10)

I went into this movie not knowing too much as I avoided any spoilers while looking at it now, I wouldn't have minded knowing a bit more. I did see the trailer once months before but aside from thinking 'I might go see this' I didn't remember much of it. All I knew was that it was a space movie of a guy who wakes up on a space ship mission alone not really remembering much, it's from the same writer as the martian and the movie involves an alien also. The movie gets a solid 8+ on imdb and is close tp 2 hours and 40 Minutes long.

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The Setup
I actually liked the entire setup of the movie of what was going on with the 'end of the world' scenario as the Sun was dying along with all other suns in the universe aside from one where they travel to and where they meet the alien creature who is on the same mission. It's also interesting that there is a switch between events on the space ship and what happened before on earth.

However, I know that the movie is called Project Hail Mary which means...

People use “Hail Mary” more broadly to mean any desperate attempt with slim odds of success.

But the movie is just packed with one event after the other that in reality would have 0.0001% chances of actually working it feels like which you need to be able totally put aside in order to fully enjoy it.

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The Alien Creature
I had no idea what to expect from the Alien creature and it would have been best in advance that I would have known it was some kind of rock with legs. I was intrigued by the initial communication and the way they got to meet. It turns out that the human can't survive in the living conditions of the creature and the other way around. The way that this the language barrier was fixed felt kind of a bit too convenient and smooth. I also fell asleep for a couple moments just to see the Alien somehow was in a capsule so it was able to get on the ship and work together to find a possible solution.

The Story
I would say the deeper story is about how the main character evolves from fearful, reluctant teacher into a selfless hero which did add to the main story of the end of the world and humanity trying to fix it.

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The Acting, Visuals, & Sound
Ryan Gosling really put up an excellent performance and the visuals of the movie along with the sould design were top notch. I liked Sandra Hüller especially the scene where the sign of the times songs. At the same time she contantly made me think of the Movie Anatomy Of A Fall where she is the main character which was somewhat distracting.

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Conclusion
Don't expect the next Interstellar or The Martian when going into Project Hail Mary as it's simply is not as good. The main thing that pulled me out a bit is the string of improbable events in this one. Aside from that, it was quite enjoyable from many angles and I get the high ratings. At the same time, I can't say I was fully blown away but I did enjoy it enough to still give it a good 7.5/10.

#	2026 Watched Movies	Score
#01	The Ballad of Wallis Island	7.4/10
#02	Sorry, Baby	7.1/10
#03	The Long Walk	6.9/10
#04	Sentimental Value	6.5/10
#05	The Baltimorons	7.0/10
#06	Bugonia	7.3/10
#07	No Other Choice	6.7/10
#08	Rental Family	8.6/10
#09	Our Girls (Voor De Meisjes)	7.9/10
#10	The Life Of Chuck	8.3/10
#11	28 Years Later	7.0/10
#12	28 Years Later: The Bone Temple	7.0/10
#13	Exit 8	6.5/10
#14	Roofman	7.5/10
#15	The Housemaid	7.0/10
#16	Together	6.4/10
#17	Project Hail Mary	7.5/10

Previous Years
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