Project Hail Mary (2026)

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.

Project Hail Mary

The patient awoke to find himself strapped in a bed, barely able to speak or move.  A robotic doctor tended to him and administered cognitive tests.  He had been in a coma and was now suffering from amnesia.  Not good.  Worse, his two bunkmates were dead and in an advanced state of decay; he was in a coma for a long time.  As he explored his surroundings, he discovered that he was on a spaceship!  It turns out he knows a lot about space.  Using onboard instruments, he thought the sun looked a bit strange.  That's not the sun, it's a different star!  Holy moly, he was in another solar system!

Scientists discovered that something was eating the sun.  A single-celled organism has infected the sun and, if not stopped, would dim the sun by 10%; that would bring on an ice age and wipe out much of humanity.  After much investigation, scientists discovered that the organism had already infected neighboring star systems.  However, Tau Ceti was unaffected.  Why?  Project Hail Mary was launched to find out what made the Tau Ceti system immune to the sun-eating microbe.

The story takes place in the near future.  The narrative switches back and forth between the present in Tau Ceti and the past with the discovery of the sun dimming.  Dr. Ryland Grace had written a speculative paper on non-water-based life, which made him an ideal candidate to examine a newly discovered lifeform that somehow lived on the sun, not known to be water-friendly.  Soon, he became an important figure in the effort to reverse the sun's dimming, which must explain why he was in the Tau Ceti system.

Like in his other book, The Martian, science plays a major role.  Though some of the technology is more advanced than today, physics works correctly.  That first contact proves to be with a microbe is funny and also probably more likely than meeting Spock.  It is an entertaining read though the hero is diminished as the story progresses.  Why is a PhD teaching middle school science?  Why does he cry so much?  The more his amnesia faded, the less I liked him.  Kind of sad.  Nonetheless, recommended for any sci-fi fan.