Project Hail Mary Review: Ryan Gosling's Space Epic Is a Near-Miraculous Masterpiece — And One of the Best Sci-Fi Films Ever Made
March 20, 2026 — The wait is finally over. Project Hail Mary has landed, and it is absolutely worth the six-year journey.
The Mission Begins
Project Hail Mary, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and written by Drew Goddard, is based on the 2021 bestselling novel by Andy Weir. It stars Ryan Gosling — who also produced the film — alongside Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, and Lionel Boyce.
Science teacher Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he uncovers his mission: solve the riddle of a mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction — but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
Amazon MGM backed this $200 million sci-fi epic, and the studio needed it to succeed. After a string of costly flops, Project Hail Mary was primed to be the studio's first original blockbuster. The gamble has clearly paid off.
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Critics Are Going Absolutely Wild
The reviews are in — and they are stunning.
Project Hail Mary currently holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes from over 224 reviews, with a 98% audience score from 2,500+ verified ratings. The site's consensus reads: "A visually dazzling space odyssey that's carried along effortlessly by the gravitational pull of Ryan Gosling at his most winning, Project Hail Mary is a near-miraculous fusion of smarts and heart."
Metacritic assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "a masterpiece of a family popcorn movie, with eye-popping hand-crafted production design and outstanding creature design and puppetry work."
Critics have been especially effusive about Gosling's performance. Reviewers praised his "goofy, nerdy, wholly human portrayal" and noted that he "manages some deeply felt moments."
Audiences have called it "an emotional rollercoaster but amazing feel good movie" and an "absolute must watch on the biggest screen possible," with some ranking it alongside 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar, and Gravity as one of the most visually stunning, emotionally resonant space films ever made.
A Box Office Phenomenon in the Making
Project Hail Mary is targeting a launch of $63 million to $65 million in North America, which would mark Amazon MGM's biggest opening ever. The trailer alone signalled the film's enormous cultural appetite — the studio called it the most-viewed trailer for any non-sequel or non-remake in its first week, accumulating 400 million views globally.
SPOILER ALERT — FULL ENDING & POST-CREDITS BREAKDOWN BELOW
Stop here if you haven't seen the film. What follows reveals major plot details.
Full Ending Breakdown
Project Hail Mary is not just about whether Grace can stop the Sun from fading — it's about whether a man who never wanted the mission can still become the one person willing to give up home to finish it.
While in space, Grace has a close encounter with an alien he nicknames Rocky, whose home planet of Eridani is suffering a similar fate. The mismatched duo team up and eventually find a solution in what they call "Taumoeba" — a predatory substance that keeps Astrophage under control. They figure out how to breed more of it, and bid each other an emotional farewell before heading to their respective planets to save the day.
But then comes the gut-punch. Grace makes a grave discovery the Taumoeba is likely to eat through Rocky's fuel, meaning Rocky will die a slow death, as will all of Eridani.
When Rocky finds out Grace doesn't have enough fuel to return home, Rocky siphons off fuel from his own ship to help. And in the film's most heroic moment, having previously been selfish and cowardly — and forced onto the mission entirely against his will — Grace steps up, sends his findings home alone to save Earth, and uses what's left of Hail Mary's fuel to save his friend.
Grace and Rocky reunite, and the story concludes with Grace living on Erid. The Eridians have constructed a biodome tailored for their human guest, replicating Earth-like conditions. In the film's final moments, Grace is back to teaching a classroom of students — this time eager alien children — and he's clearly happier than he's ever been in his new home.
The emotional kicker? Throughout the film, Grace has partial amnesia partly due to the lengthy induced coma and substances administered by Stratt. The gut-punch revelation is that Grace straight-up refused to go on the suicide mission, and even ran from authorities before being forced into the coma that took him into space.
🎬 Post-Credits Scene: What Happens?
There are no credits scenes whatsoever in Project Hail Mary — no mid-credits stinger, no post-credits scene. Nothing at all. Anyone who sees the movie and makes it to the credits can head to the lobby without fear of missing out.
However — after the credits have fully wrapped up and the screen goes black, the surprise comes in the form of a final little song from Rocky. It's unclear what he says, as the audience doesn't speak Eridian — it could be "goodbye," or "hope you enjoyed the movie," or simply one of Rocky's trademark exclamations. For fans who just met Rocky for the first time, this final little surprise is a welcome and warm send-off worth sitting through the credits for.
