A science teacher is blasted into outer space where he teams up with an alien to help save the world
The second big screen adaptation of an Andy Weir sci fi novel (the first being The Martian), Project Hail Mary is another tale of a likeable scientist stranded in extenuating circumstances. This time it is the perfectly cast Ryan Gosling.
The Hail Mary pass comes from American football, signifying a last second effort in the final hours of a game. In this context, the game is the survival of humanity. Single cell organisms called Astrophage are literally eating the sun’s electromagnetic radiation. As the star dims, a second ice age begins to look likely. The “Hail Mary…