Project Hail Mary 2026.

Why you should see it: Ryan Gosling and his ample reserve of charming movie-star energy help power the extremely familiar Project Hail Mary to recommendable status, despite some elements that occasionally get in the way.

Science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction. But an unexpected friendship may mean he doesn't have to do it alone.

If it sounds like you've seen this all before, though, that's because Project Hail Mary is essentially a mash-up of several popular works of science fiction, including the decade-old Matt Damon flick The Martian, which was based on a book written by Andy Weir, the same guy who wrote the bestseller on which Project Hail Mary is based.

Gosling does commendable work throughout, carrying the movie on his back so thoroughly that I hope he checked in with a chiropractor after filming. It's essentially a one-man show, and he does an excellent job of guiding the audience through it all. By the time a spider-like rock creature is introduced, he plays off his scene-partner puppet with gusto. Sandra Hüller of Anatomy of a Fall fame is also great in her scenes on Earth as the no-nonsense head of the expedition.

The movie pays lip service to classic sci-fi films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind while simultaneously stealing the plot of Christopher Nolan's masterpiece Interstellar. It ultimately morphs into an E.T.-style story about a human befriending an alien creature and discovering we're not all that different. There's also a spacewalk scene that reminded me of Gravity. No, you're not crazy to reference Armageddon or even Cast Away.

In addition to its plot similarities to The Martian, Project Hail Mary also emulates that film’s Obama-era hopecore ideal that if all the smartest people in the world put aside their differences and work together, nothing is impossible. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like Arrival too. Also, am I the only person who remembers that bad Netflix movie Spaceman, starring Adam Sandler, from a few years ago? How did we end up with two movies about a guy talking to a spider-like creature in outer space?! That movie must've ripped off this book!

Anyway, as the movie goes on and on (and on and on, it ends about 15 times), it's as if you're watching the filmmakers attempt to convince themselves as well as the audience that the movie is an important work of sci-fi grandeur on the level of classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, which it's somehow longer than.

Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have good reason to want to prove themselves — they became in-demand after the popularity of their 21 Jump Street reboot and The Lego Movie, but were famously fired mid-movie while making Disney's Han Solo Star Wars spinoff before beloved director Ron Howard took over.

And on a technical level, the movie looks great; I was especially taken with the alien creature's ship. It's the storytelling that falters. The movie aims to please so much that it undercuts any potential drama; it's preordained that everything will work out fine. It's so desperate to entertain that it constantly undercuts tension with jokes, which gets irritating even if Gosling is good at selling it.

Part of the problem here is the flashback structure, which kills momentum by doubling back to fill us in on the story, which isn't all that compelling because we've all seen the movies it's ripping off. It is also a reminder of the incongruity between Gosling's character as presented in space and as portrayed on Earth, where he's a meek science teacher.

Despite the movie constantly joking about his lack of space captain abilities, he's able to fly the ship when the movie needs him to, and there's little point in spending so much time with his character refusing the mission. I've seen the future — he's already there!

In short, Project Hail Mary mostly delivers as an IMAX-sized spectacle, anchored by Gosling's terrific work despite the movie's increasingly derivative nature and protracted finale. And now you can find out how it plays at home on your television.

What other critics are saying: It's well reviewed, which is partially why I felt I had to level-set expectations. There's something so try-hard about it to me! David Fear at Rolling Stone writes, "Gosling can actually sell us on an everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances while still beguiling us with old-school snap, crackle, and pop." Mashable's Kristy Puchko writes, "Imagine The Martian meets Half Nelson meets E.T., and you'll get some idea of the mirthful mash-up that is Project Hail Mary."

How to watch: Project Hail Mary is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and other VOD platforms.