MOVIE REVIEW: We head into space with Ryan Gosling in ‘Project Hail Mary’

Perilous journey has heart, humour and horror alongaside brilliant bond between leading man and rock puppet.

Having read, and been a big fan of, Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary book, I was really looking forward to seeing what The Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller would do with the magical material.

I was slightly fearful that, given the helmers’ comedic background, they would turn things into too much of a joke as there was some really serious stuff going down in Weir’s work.

Fortunately, they stay clear of overdoing the humour while still dishing out a number of genuinely hilarious moments.

It was a wise move getting writer Drew Goddard on board as he did a wonderful job with the 2015 movie adaptation of Weir’s The Martian .

Ryan Gosling plays science teacher Ryland Grace who wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth.

As his memory slowly returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing the sun – and save Earth.

Gosling was an inspired, perfect choice as Ryland . Whether mystified or terrified, charming and jokey or serious and stern, this a flawed, definitively human protagonist thrust into out-of-this-world experiences.

Also perfect was the move to use puppetry and animatronics to bring Ryland’s alien buddy Rocky (James Ortiz) to life.

This lends Rocky a realness CGI couldn’t match and the central relationship between Ryland and Rocky , which we witness fully rendered from start to finish, is achingly beautiful.

READ MORE: MOVIE REVIEW: We see if horror ‘Whistle’ hits the right notes

Flashbacks fill in the gaps for Ryland and the audience, and feature a multi-layered turn from Sandra Hüller ( Eva ), although much of the science speak may fly over your head.

The visuals are stunning but, inevitably, evoke comparisons with other genre flicks Interstellar , Gravity and the aforementioned The Martian .

The climax is a suitably tense race-against-time mixed with friendship at its finest.

Project Hail Mary isn’t quite an all-timer touchdown, however it packs in heart, horrors and heavy decisions on the titular spacecraft and back home.

And it’ll be hard to beat the bond between Ryan Gosling and a rock puppet for cinematic relationship of the year.

● Email ian.bunting@reachplc.com with your movie recommendations.

● Project Hail Mary is showing in cinemas now.

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