Somewhere in space, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awoke. He was disoriented and a robot prompted him with questions. Soon, he was coherent, but he didn't know who he was or where he was. After exploring the ship, he found that his two crewmates had died. As he familiarized himself with the ship, Hail Mary, some flashes of memory returned to him. The sun was dying on account of an alien lifeform. In fact, every star in the neighborhood was dying with the exception of Tau Ceti. He was at Tau Ceti to find out why and perhaps save the earth from an inevitable and unending ice age.
Some days after he awoke, the ship's flight plan concluded and now it was up to him to determine what to do. However, an alien vessel approached! A meet-cute between Grace and Rocky (James Ortiz) takes place. Rocky is a five-limbed rock-like creature and has come to Tau Ceti for the same reason as Grace. Together, the duo investigate what makes Tau Ceti immune to the sun-eating micro-organisms.
The story takes place both in the present - Tau Ceti - and in the past - Grace's recurring flashes of memory as his amnesia fades. His earth memories show him as a middle school science teacher who was recruited by an international agency headed by Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller). She is not friendly and quite ruthless. Understandable considering the situation, but not a likeable character. These past memories show that he was not intended to be on the mission and also introduce his two deceased crewmates.
The movie does a very good job of following the book. It simplifies here and there, but hits all the important points. The very different environment of Rocky is softened, which allowed him to wander around the Hail Mary in a hamster ball rather than building a tunnel system. Solid xenon is much funnier in the movie than it was in the book. Where I liked the book Grace less as I got to know him, the movie Grace was more likeable by the end.
Excellent film and great popcorn fun. Recommended.
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