I knew “Project Hail Mary” would be something special when I was first able to see some early footage last April. Those moments stayed with me over the past year, and they were magnified when I was finally able to see the movie last week.

Ryan Gosling delivers what is sure to be a career-defining role. It is a big task to be in almost every scene of a movie, and he is more than up to it, delivering a delicate balance of humor and heart to the role of Ryland Grace, a schoolteacher who becomes a reluctant astronaut.

Grace’s background in physics gets him in the door to a top-secret mission to save the world from an extraterrestrial-based extinction event for Earth.

The story is told through two linear timelines: the first is Grace waking up in space with memory loss and his subsequent mission, the other a series of flashbacks explaining how he got there, reflecting how he starts to regain his memories.

If I had my way, the following plot point wouldn’t have appeared in the promos and trailers, but it does, so I will discuss it. If you want to stop here, go for it and go see the movie!

Shortly after Grace arrives at his destination, he discovers another ship presumably on the same mission from another planet. What develops from there is one of the best unlikely friendship stories ever committed to film.

Rocky, Grace’s new alien friend, was created through mostly practical puppetry and voiced by his puppeteer (James Ortiz), adds a depth to “Project Hail Mary” that makes me love the film even more.

The practical aspects the filmmakers used for Rocky and other aspects of the film make its visual achievements even more impressive, it is truly a beautiful movie to look at, especially in some of its outer space shots. For me, it is on par with “2001: A Space Odyssey” in that area.

There are shots in this movie that left my jaw agape and will stay in my mind as some perfect examples of what this medium can be through carefully crafted shots. Shoutout to directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller along with cinematographer Greig Fraser.

The story, based on the novel by Andy Weir, is also incredibly compelling, which should be no surprise, as Weir’s “The Martian” was adapted into another recent favorite space movie. Drew Goddard did an excellent job adapting Weir’s “Project Hail Mary” to the big screen.

In their limited roles, Sandra Hüller and Lionel Boyce also deliver compelling supporting performances. Hüller’s Harry Styles karaoke as the leader of the mission on Earth is one of the best non-musical music moments I’ve seen on film in a while, and the sequence with Boyce’s government operative Carl and Grace making a trip to the local hardware store to get supplies is also incredibly memorable.

Speaking of music, the film’s score is also the perfect composition to accompany the story, delivering the right blend of playful and mission-focused.

The world of “Project Hail Mary” is all at once expansive and intimate, providing a singular storytelling moment that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Rating: 4.5/5