Ryan Gosling's Project Hail Mary Leaves All The Critics Stunned

"Project Hail Mary," the latest movie from directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is about to hit theaters ... and all of the early reviews agree that it's a sci-fi masterpiece that serves as a gorgeous adaptation of Andy Weir's original novel. If you want to hear more about the near-universal acclaim "Project Hail Mary" is already receiving ahead of its March 20 release, check out our video above.

Ryan Gosling leads "Project Hail Mary" as Ryland Grace, a molecular biologist and teacher who ends up being tasked to help save the Earth from certain disaster ... and who becomes the only surviving person left on board his ship as it travels through the cosmos. Lord and Miller, directors known for taking wildly tricky projects and making them actually great — including their "21 Jump Street" reboot and, of course, "The LEGO Movie" — teamed up with screenwriter Drew Goddard, who also adapted Weir's book "The Martian" into an Oscar-nominated film starring Matt Damon, for "Project Hail Mary." With talent like that behind the camera and Gosling in the lead, "Project Hail Mary" was basically destined to be great.

Critics apparently agree, for the most part. Even though Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian had some reservations about the film, he concluded, "This is a Hail Mary pass that Gosling just about manages to catch." Owen Gleiberman at Variety also had some misgivings about the movie, writing, "'Project Hail Mary' wants to be the kind of great escape we need right now, and I have no doubt that many will hail it as one." Still, he did offer the movie some faint praise: "'Project Hail Mary' never stops figuring out ways to make you fall in love with it." So what else did major critics have to say about "Project Hail Mary?"

Over at Deadline, Pete Hammond praised the movie's content and how it's made, writing, "A movie made for Imax, 'Project Hail Mary' is mission accomplished, an entertaining and engaging piece of science fiction that suggests even though we may be worlds apart, in order to save us from ourselves we must band together now more than ever." Kate Erbland, reviewing the movie for IndieWire, expressed a similar sentiment: "To write more about the pleasures and pains of 'Project Hail Mary' would be a disservice to what's most entertaining and satisfying about the film: watching it unfold, enjoying the process, accepting the mission, asking the big questions."

Here at Looper, Reuben Baron soundly praised the film, declaring, "Deeply hopeful, spectacularly produced, and equally adept at laughter and tears, 'Project Hail Mary' is the best new movie to hit theaters so far this year." Nick Schager may have put it best at The Daily Beast in his review, calling the movie "a stirring celebration of bravery, camaraderie, and human ingenuity that goes big in every respect, not least of which by recognizing and foregrounding the majesty of larger-than-life movie stardom."

It seems clear, even before "Project Hail Mary" officially soars into theaters, that Amazon MGM Studios' massive bet on this project will pay off ... and considering that it has a budget of $248 million, this is great news for anyone who championed this emotional and audacious space odyssey. (Plus, it's nice to see the always welcome Ryan Gosling take on a central role after his outstanding supporting turn in 2023's "Barbie.") Watch our video to hear more about what critics think of "Project Hail Mary," and don't miss the movie's big release on March 20, 2026.