OUT NOW: Project Hail Mary (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller)

Sent on a one-way mission to save the sun, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) discovers his crew-mates have died.

Alone on a ship he can barely understand, Ryland's mission is further complicated when a strange craft appears alongside his...

It has been 12 years since Phil Lord and Chris Miller's last directorial effort, 22 Jump Street. In between, they became Sony's animation braintrust, helping to shepheard the Spiderverse movies to the screen.

They were also the directors of 2018’s Solo - until they were kicked to the curb partway through filming.

After watching Project Hail Mary, some people at Disney must be cursing into their Star Wars pillow. 

There is a sense of scale here, and a tactility to the world-building that feels distinct from their previous work - but one can glimpse the same meticulousness and attention to detail.

The film is a bit too long - and there is a narrative framing device that wears out its welcome.

Project Hail Mary is solid four-quadrant filmmaking.

In the lead, Ryan Gosling is, unsurprisingly, magnetic. He brings that same unique mixture of whimsy and earnestness that defines his screen persona. Grace is a smarter sibling to his character in The Nice Guys - down and out, but driven by an inherent curiosity and bloodymindedness to ultimately do the right thing.

Gosling has never opened a movie on his own. Hopefully this film will solidify his A-lister status.

And now to his co-star.

Rocky, voiced by James Ortiz, and brought to life by a combination of puppetry and visual effects, is a marvel.

A combination of a spider and a collection of boulders, this eyeless alien is a fantastically original creation. Using a version of sonar, this character relies on sound to navigate the world.

This reliance on physical touch leads to Grace having to figure out a new form of communication, via handmade models and figurines. 

The movie, intentionally or not, turns into a metaphor for problem-solving, creativity, and handmade craft. 

The second act is so strong, as Grace and Rocky bond, and Grace learns to regain his sense of hope, that the third act cannot help but feel like a letdown.

The film presents our hero with a series of increasingly dire choices - any of whom could have served as endings to his journey and the movie. But the film keeps going, ending on a moment that goes beyond having your cake.

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