Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi novel moves from a successful theatrical release to 4K disc in Project Hail Mary (Alliance Entertainment, rated: PG-13, 2.39:1, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, 156 minutes, $37.99).
I’ll call it their satisfying revenge for being pulled from “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” as they delivered an adventure focused on middle school teacher and former molecular biologist Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awakening alone aboard the interstellar spacecraft Hail Mary with no memory of how he got there and with his other two crew members dead.
As his memories return, he remembers that Earth faces extinction from Astrophage, a microscopic alien organism draining energy from the sun.
Near Tau Ceti, Mr. Grace encounters a creature with five appendages he names Rocky, the sole survivor of an alien mission facing the same threat.
Working together while overcoming language barriers and biological limitations, the unlikely partners search for a way to neutralize the organism and save both worlds.
The ingratiating charm of Mr. Gosling carries the movie. He’s literally only onscreen like 80% of the time, with a puppet no less, but manages to imbue his performance with an enormous amount of emotion and depth.
“Project Hail Mary” was refreshing in not only watching a story about hope realized through science but also in seeing a human and other species solving a problem with their brains and not brawn.
And, as equally important, it was great to actually watch a movie with a happy ending.
Thankfully, the directors took a page from Mr. Spielberg’s sci-fi book in creating a heartwarming adventure worthy of family viewing.
4K in action: The pristine presentation looks great in standard aspect ratio but revels in the 4K experience when going gloriously full-screen IMAX size when following Mr. Grace and Rocky in space.
Those celestial scenes pay much respect to “2001: A Space Odyssey,” silent and stark. Viewers are privy to Rocky’s massive gold-spired ship (with golden bands and rays of light), watching Mr. Grace on a bumbling and harrowing spacewalk or witnessing a screen-consuming neon green and orange surface of a planet.
An Astrophage barrage lighting up the screen in a red glow as it strikes Mr. Grace — who is wearing a spacesuit and helmet in the stunning scene — could have been captured in a still frame and used for a poster of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi epic.
The film’s strongest UHD detail comes with the arrival of Rocky; viewers can inspect every crevice, indentation and pointed detail of its reddish-brown pentagonal rock-like body.
Best extras: Thankfully, the directors deliver a nonstop, easygoing and appreciative commentary track touching on the production practically scene by scene.
It’s very detailed and informative, covering props, the effects, set design, actors’ performances and shot motivations, even film stock choices, aspect ratios.
They opine about their obsession with reflections and glass, thoughts on directing, hiring 1,100 people for visual effects, and even comment throughout the end credits of the film, marveling at the number of people who cooperated together to make a work of art.
Finally, an eight-minute featurette focuses on creating Rocky, starting with Mr. Weir’s introduction and working through his design that brought Rocky to life via practical puppeteering, animatronics and digital effects, as mainly explained by creature creator Neal Scanlan and puppeteer James Ortiz.
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