Project Hail Mary is the Best Sci-Fi Film Since Interstellar

I walked out of Project Hail Mary last weekend feeling something I haven’t felt in a cinema for years: pure, unironic wonder. The last time a movie did that to me was Interstellar in 2014 — and I was in middle school then.

Movies featuring “superheroes” are everywhere these days, and audiences have long since grown tired of them. But this sci-fi film, starring Ryan Gosling and adapted from Andy Weir’s novel, has been a pleasant surprise. It made an original sci-fi story the biggest box office hit of 2026. It has already grossed $164 million (as of March 26), and I think it’s worth every penny.

I would say Project Hail Mary is the best sci-fi film since Interstellar. Half the people online say so. I didn’t believe it before I saw it, but after watching it myself, I think they’re absolutely right.

Project Hail Mary movie poster. Image: Amazon MGM Studios.

Nolan’s masterpiece moves audiences to tears with its concept of time dilation. Lord and Miller achieve something even harder: they make you cry for a rock-spider alien that communicates through musical tones.

Cold indifference vs. radiant wonder — two sci-fi masterpieces, two very different universes. Left: Interstellar (2014); Right: Project Hail Mary (2026).

The brilliance of this film lies in the fact that it does not portray the universe as a hostile place. It does not turn first contact of two civilizations into a war story, which is what other films often do. While The Three-Body Problem taught a generation that alien civilizations are threats to be feared, Project Hail Mary goes the opposite direction.

The two civilizations are separated by vastly different biological structures and languages. Yet they choose trust over suspicion, and cooperation over conquest. In 2026, in the real world, civilizations on Earth seem determined to build high walls and wage war against one another. This film, however, advocates for building bridges—even across species. It is deeply moving in this era.

Let’s talk about Rocky, that alien puppet. I can honestly say I love him more than any other Marvel character from the past five years. I was in tears during the scene where Rocky sacrificed his own fuel just so Grace could get home. When Grace finally turned the ship around and chose friendship over survival, the entire theater fell silent in an instant. Everyone was deeply moved.

Rocky, the Eridian engineer. Image: Amazon MGM Studios.

Some critics have called it sentimental, lacking the tension of harder sci-fi. But from my point of view, we don’t need another film reminding us the universe is terrifying. We need one that says: In this universe, kindness is the most rational strategy.

Go see it in IMAX while you still can. Remember to bring tissues!