First Impressions of Project Hail Mary

In which Overstreet finally gets around to sharing his take on the year's biggest sci-fi hit so far.

Filed under: Ryan GoslingPhil LordChristopher MillerProject Hail MaryDrew GoddardFilm ReviewOn Movies & Media
First Impressions of Project Hail Mary
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace in Project Hail Mary. [Image: Amazon MGM Studios trailer]

Remember those moments in the original Iron Man when Tony Snark ... sorry, Tony Stark is wisecrackingly instructing various robotic assistants to help him with his tech? A little bit of Robert Downey Jr. in that mode goes a long way.

In Project Hail Mary, instead of Robert Downey Jr. doing what he does, we get Ryan Gosling doing that goofy, adorable, slapstick-y stuff that has made him such a welcome presence on screens big and small. The guy’s charisma seems inexhaustible in projects as varied as Barbie, La La Land, The Nice Guys, and several episodes of Saturday Night Live. And now he has an epic adventure film to carry almost entirely on the strength of that distinct appeal.

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