Review: Project Hail Mary (2026)
The majority opinion seems to be that Project Hail Mary is a near-perfect cinematic experience. "The first truly great movie of 2026," reads the headline from various cinematic pundits and online outlets. There's an adoration associated with it that we rarely see post-pandemic. It seems to work for just about everyone, but I find myself in the minority in thinking that the movie is momentarily pleasing but ultimately fails to fly. I think part of its success is that it's entirely inoffensive, carefully crafted to appeal to the widest market possible with 1) a main character who reflects the weariness of our current times but rises above it, 2) a cute (and marketable) alien sidekick, and 3) a story that has lots of emotional twists. It's the kind of thing general movie audiences eat up. Because the average person only goes to the movie theater four or less times per year, they want those experiences to pack in everything they want in a single package: big visuals,...