Photosensitivity Warning: There are several sequences involving flashing lights, including the immediate opening of the film, which may cause issues for photosensitive viewers. Please take precautions before watching the film.
Hope is a powerful thing. In the darkest of nights, it’s hope that enables one to persevere, to maintain, to keep moving forward. The absence of it spells disaster on the personal level and threatens absolute extinction when on the global scale. Despite recent historical events that directly answer what humanity would do if altruism was the only way to survive, the stories audiences show up for resoundingly proclaim that putting the community over the self, that striving for hope in the face of insurmountable darkness, is still something that people believe in. Earlier this year, co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Jump Street series; LEGO movies) released their adaptation of the novel Project Hail Mary into theaters and people showed up for it, sometimes more than once. Did audiences do this to feel a little hope? Was it for the film’s defining sense of optimism and community? Or was it something else? Whatever the reason, with Project Hail Mary now coming home on physical formats, audiences have a chance to look to the stars in awe and terror whenever they like.
Molecular biologist and middle school science teacher Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up disoriented from a medically-induced coma discovering that he’s aboard a space ship, by himself, headed toward the Tau Ceti system, nearly 12 light-years from Earth. Over time, he remembers that he’s part of a mission dubbed “Project Hail Mary” in a bid to find a solution for the crisis involving the destruction of the sun that threatens all life on Earth. The mission is clear, his confusion justified (albeit slowly clearing), but nothing can prepare him for what he’ll discover in the adventure ahead.
The following home release review is based on a 4K UHD retail copy provided by Alliance Entertainment. Though this is an initial review for EoM, some specific details will need to be mentioned in order to properly review the special features and recommend the home edition. If you’ve yet to see the film, please come back to this review once you’ve watched it.
Adapted by Drew Goddard (The Martian; Cabin in the Woods) from author Andy Weir’s 2021 novel, Project Hail Mary has all the hallmarks of a Lord and Miller production. It’s whimsical, it’s awe-inspiring, it’s scientifically creative, it’s imaginative, it’s philosophical, and it’s sincere in a way that could be unbelievable in our cynical world if not for the presentation and performances who make it real. A short-hand would be to describe Project Hail Mary as a fascinating combination of the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs series, the core LEGO movies, and Nolan’s Interstellar (2014) — films which, on their own, are fantastic endorsements for the virtue of STEM and certainly remind people why the collective intelligence of the world is stronger than the minds of any one nation. At their cores, the films are about the community we build and the ways in which the experience of sharing ideas saves the world. They are about the open expression and utilization of science to expand our consciousness while never forgetting that growth begins with the heart and the connections we foster. What is the point of saving our island (Swallow Falls), our home (Bricksburg), or our world (Earth), if not for the individuals in our lives who make it all worth preserving (sentient leeks, siblings, or the next generation)? In each of these examples, the protagonist faces the ending of something and confronts it, reluctantly, but in order to save the day. Here, however, Grace is frequently positioned as never wanting to take on the mantle of “hero.” Through our introduction of him, he left the higher sciences for teaching middle school because he so greatly disagreed with the community about his theory regarding life structures. Like most protagonists, Grace is a figure whose journey enables him to confront the parts of himself (albeit kicking and screaming) that he refuses to address; in this case, the fact that being wrong is part and parcel of being a scientist and that the journey to learn is built by failure. Of course, when the stakes are high and failure means extinction, then someone like Grace is either going to step forward or crumble. Fascinatingly, it’s a line from Project Hail Mary ship captain Yao (Ken Leung) that generates the throughline for film when he tells Grace that the trick to doing what they (the three-person team selected to do the mission) need to is to have someone to do it for. But Grace, as we meet him, doesn’t have that. The flashbacks, built from Grace’s reforming memory, lead the audience to think the reason is going to come from the somewhat intimate relationship formed between Grace and project supervisor Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), but it’s really due to what happens between himself and Rocky, the alien Grace accidentally happens across in space as their ships converge on the same course. It’s their bond at a time of great stress and of shared necessity, and the realization that their ability to perceive what the other cannot is the actual key to saving both of their civilizations, and it’s their relationship, which create the emotional power that has audiences coming back again and again.
Who could possibly have imagined that there is always more that binds us together than that separates us? Who could have imagined that we, sitting in our (hopefully) comfy chairs and enjoying our (hopefully) tasty snacks, would find ourselves relating so heavily not just to Grace’s sense of terror at being the last bastion of humanity, but to a living rock whose every choice seems strange but is entirely driven by merely looking at existence differently. In a different film, each would be terrified of the other and they would need to develop rapport over time, yet, Goddard’s adaptation infuses humor within the uncertainty, so even when things are tense for Grace in that initial encounter, they are not terrifying beyond his own established fears. Instead, the meeting of Grace and the life form he nicknames “Rocky” is of wonder and excitement, much like the climax of Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), which is, of course referenced subtly (and hilariously). The terror is in the unknown vastness of space and the coincidence that two ships would happen to converge, Grace’s ship seriously outmatched in sheer size. His reaction of fear makes sense, that initial impulse to get away, and, we, alongside him, urge Grace to move the ship — and, yet, we start laughing as this new vessel catches up and even mimics the Hail Mary’s movements. Now, instead of treating the meeting with fear, it’s all curiosity, allowing for discovery — which is the difference between saving us all and dooming us. That’s not just a narrative necessity, but one that’s very real in our time (but stories always make that far more digestible and accessible as we humans seem to be able to shift our biases when the experience is someone else’s). This is why we weep and why our breath stops as we see these characters make the choices they do. A “hero moment” isn’t had because of the mission either of them are on, but because of their friendship. True friendship is the leap of faith. And it pays the characters, and us, in dividends.
This being a home release edition, we’re going to briefly delve into what to expect in the 4K UHD edition. It contains a feature-length commentary track with Lord and Miller, five deleted scenes, and a brief featurette centering Rocky. The deleted scenes run just under 10 minutes and, frankly, make sense for why they were cut. Sometimes a deleted scene will reveal a plotline removed or some other little tidbit, but there’s no such surprise here. It’s really just scenes cut for time or pacing. Those who love Rocky will appreciate the aptly-titled “Earth’s Favorite Eridian,” a nearly-eight-minute featurette that provides information on how Ortiz got the role, the incorporation of CG with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop puppetry to give the alien engineer relatable qualities, and a number of other details from Gosling (The Fall Guy) and crew that expound on the craft that went into the making the puppet a fully-realized character. Of course, if you really want the good details on the making of the film, you’ll want to go to the commentary track.
Frustratingly, none of the bonus features dive into Greig Fraser’s (Dune: Part One & Part Two; The Batman) cinematography, Charles Wood’s (The Italian Job; Avengers: Infinity War) production design, set design, art design, costumes, or special effects — you know, all the things that make Project Hail Mary feel as grounded as it does cosmic. There’s not even one to focus on the actors, the writing, the adaptation, or, otherwise, anything creative and/or technical. This film feels like a marvel and it’s treated like disposable entertainment. Perhaps the upcoming steelbook giftset scheduled for release in October will contain some of this “missing” behind-the-scenes material. The official release states that it will include three discs, new bonus materials, a booklet, and supposedly other materials. Like most limited edition steelbooks, it may sellout (stock is either gone or not yet available online), so be mindful of your options and choose carefully.
From a technical perspective, the 4K UHD edition doesn’t disappoint, but doesn’t wow, either. The bitrate shifts between 50-60 Mbps (where it holds for most of the film) with occasional jumps into the 70-80 Mbps range. There’s no distortion to the video or audio elements when the bitrate shifts, so that’s not the concern. Fraser’s cinematography, Daniel Pemberton’s (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) score, and the sound design are, frankly, immaculate. A few scenes are even test worthy. The issue is that the max bitrate on a Blu-ray is 40 Mbps, which means that the bulk of the 4K UHD presentation is only slightly better than if you were to watch the Blu-ray or to stream. When folks are buying their movies, many are looking not just to be able to view a film without a subscription, but to get the best possible home experience. While most aren’t going to notice any difference in the playback, the fact that the bitrate is so frequently low gives one pause to completely recommend snagging this particular edition.
L-R: Actor Ryan Gosling with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller on the set of their film PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo Credit: Jonathan Olley. © 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
It didn’t take long for this reviewer to understand why folks kept going back to see Project Hail Mary. It’s the rare film that not only tells you it’s going to be epic via the premise, it lives up to it in the technical execution *and* it makes you feel so damn good. Sure, it’ll punch you in the gut a few times, but it’s not the kind of injury that makes one ward off the experience. Rather, it’s a welcome one as we see what it is humanity can be capable of when we remember that the things that bring us together, especially our differences, make us more powerful as a result. It doesn’t hurt that the whole of the film is a massive advertisement for holistic education wherein sciences and humanities are equally important, where specialists can acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, and being the smartest person in the room is not a shortcoming but the greatest defensive weapon one can possess. Project Hail Mary is what happens when smart people who give a damn are put in charge —anything is truly possible.
Project Hail Mary Special Features:
- Earth’s Favorite Eridian (7:53)
- Five (5) Deleted Scenes (9:58)
- Commentary by Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Available on Prime Video July 3rd, 2026.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD August 11th, 2026.
Available on 3-Disc steelbook giftset October 13th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Amazon MGM Studios Project Hail Mary webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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