When a mysterious alien life form begins consuming our sun, threatening all life on Earth, the world’s top scientific minds set about finding a remedy. Among them is middle school teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a reluctant and humble genius whose theories prove crucial to a long-shot “Hail Mary” space mission eleven light-years away.
His challenges go from theoretical to very real when he awakens aboard the ship alone, seriously confused, and facing a critical task. The biggest shock comes when he makes an unexpected new friend who happens to share the same goal.
Astronaut Ken Flies Solo
Adapted from Andy Weir’s novel, Hail Mary bears more than a few similarities to The Martian, and it even tapped the same screenwriter, Drew Goddard, for the adaptation. This time, however, the sci-fi is more fi than sci, and although the film bombards the audience with plenty of facts, it manages to make them remarkably digestible without ever talking down to us.
One problem I discovered for myself in a darkened theater months ago, and apparently many others agree: The 157-minute runtime is simply too long, particularly during the second act, when Grace and his buddy Rocky get into the meat of their mission. There are ups and downs and setbacks, and I remember my eyelids growing rather heavy after a while. Through it all, however, the heartfelt bonding between this odd couple never gets old, and a huge revelation during one of the flashbacks gave me the jolt I needed to soldier onward.
Project Hail Mary Looks Spectacular in 4K
Project Hail Mary was shot with high-end digital cameras, but, as he has done before, the wonderful director of photography Greig Fraser transferred the entire movie to analog film and then back to digital as part of his process. The space scenes and Earthbound flashbacks employ different visual techniques to distinguish them: Most noticeably, the 2.39:1 aspect ratio takes us back home, while the mission-based scenes, which comprise the majority of the film, were shot for IMAX exhibition and are presented here in a screen-filling 16:9 ratio, with some clever transitions between the two.
All in all, the digital-film-digital pipeline yields a lovely effect, imparting organic density to the colors along with a natural layer of grain. Meanwhile, the tiny dots representing our alien nemeses and the intricacies of the enormous spacefaring vessels are reproduced spectacularly in 2160p.
For the movie to work, we need to be right there with Grace throughout his adventure, and the Atmos mix does a commendable job of putting us in the action alongside our intrepid hero, employing precise sonic cues throughout the soundfield for genuine immersion. Many scenes are relatively quiet but carefully crafted, and the story can throw just about anything at us at any moment: a fighter jet, a rocket engine, a jump scare, each delivered with appropriate force.
Daniel Pemberton’s musical score is mixed with enough presence and scale to drive the emotional beats home.
Dynamic directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller provide an affable and informative audio commentary, in addition to participating in an eight-minute video overview of Rocky and the character’s creation. The five deleted and extended scenes are all worthwhile, but kudos to Phil and Chris for cutting them from an already lengthy journey. This is a single-disc package with no HD Blu-ray and no digital copy.
While the slower moments occasionally put my life support to the test, the film’s emotional core, brilliant cinematography, and inspired Atmos mix make this a Hail Mary pass worth catching.
Movie Details
- STUDIO: Amazon MGM Studios/Alliance Home Entertainment
- FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (August 11, 2026)
- THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 2026
- ASPECT RATIOS: 2.39:1/1.78:1
- HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
- AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
- LENGTH: 157 mins.
- MPAA RATING: PG-13
- DIRECTORS: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
- STARRING: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung, Priya Kansara
Our Ratings
★★★★★★★★★★ Movie
★★★★★★★★★★ Picture
★★★★★★★★★★ Sound
★★★★★★★★★★ Extras
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