JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: Project Hail Mary

 Sweet and funny sci-fi

Film critic Jason Evans has made it his mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes to gaze longingly at the stars. His reviews are exactly 100 words long (99 is too short while 101 is just excessive). Here is his 100-word review of Project Hail Mary.

The Premise: Schoolteacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up in a daze. He is on a spaceship and has been in hibernation for a long time. The other astronauts with him are dead and he has no idea what is going on. His memories slowly start to come back and he realizes he is in space because Earth’s sun is slowly cooling due to a tiny bug that is stealing its energy. Grace has been sent to study a distant star that is somehow resistant to the bug. Soon, another ship shows up with an alien lifeform that also wants to understand the bug. Can Grace and his alien friend figure out how to save both of their worlds? The film is based on a book by Andy Weir, who wrote The Martian. It is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who did the Jump Street movies and are the creative forces behind the Spiderverse animated films.

The 100-words: Dripping with humor, sarcasm, and fun energy, Project Hail Mary is an easy watch that capitalizes on the magnetic charisma of Ryan Gosling. This is a buddy flick and the relationship that Grace develops with his alien friend, Rocky, is easily the best part of the movie. The script is fine -- there is too much technobabble in the middle, but it nicely leans into teamwork and emotion at the end. Though not as propulsive or easy-to-understand as The Martian, this is very enjoyable time at the movies and you don’t have to be a sci-fi fan to love it.

Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans