Project Hail Mary [4K Ultra HD]

Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz

Release Date: August 11, 2026

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 10/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

In Project Hail Mary, science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction, but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

‘Project Hail Mary’ accompanies science teacher Ryland Grace enlisted to help save the fate of the world by embarking on a mission to prevent the sun from dying out.  After awaking on a ship deep in space and finding the rest of the crew has passed, Ryland must try and piece together his memory which remains foggy from the trip. Now he’ll have to try and find a way to prevent a substance impacting the sun from fully overtaking it before it leaves the world suffering, while meeting an unexpected other in the deepest reaches of space who he tries to join forces with.

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, The LEGO Movie) from a screenplay written by Drew Goddard (The Martian) which was based on the novel by Andy Weir, Lord and Miller do a remarkable job at the helm of ‘Project Hail Mary’ guiding along the out of this world tale with beauty and heart. The film’s cast includes Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy), Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), James Ortiz (The Woodsman), Lionel Boyce (TV’s The Bear), Ken Leung (TV’s Industry), Milana Vayntrub (TV’s Monster) and Priya Kansara (Polite Society), with nearly all offering impressive and notable performances in their roles that help to make this one as memorable and marvelous as it is.

‘Project Hail Mary’ is absolutely phenomenal; a perfectly crafted adventure film that reminds us just how powerful a movie can actually be and it exudes just about every emotion you could hope for from wonder and amazement to pure joy, happiness and sadness. It kicks off with Ryland awaking on the ship with a fuzzy memory and then proceeds to jump back and forth between that timeline and the events leading up to the eventual mission, while unveiling plenty of clarity and informational tidbits along the way that soon begin to connect and explain some elements that aren’t crystal clear from the onset.

The film is spectacularly guided along by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and anchored by a fantastic performance by Ryan Gosling in the lead and of course a remarkable story to keep you thoroughly invested and engaged at every turn. In addition to the tremendous guidance, performances and story it also benefits significantly from great pacing and a visually stellar look throughout that keeps everything from slipping away from the realm of believability even amid so many out there subjects and ideas which is no easy task to make land, but it works without a hitch here.

Overall, ‘Project Hail Mary’ is a marvelous, moving and emotionally powerful tale that’s easily one of the best films of the year so far. It’s a perfectly paced, visually stunning and heartfelt story that’s brimming with beauty and hope throughout and a terrific performance by Ryan Gosling only helps it to become that much more rewarding. ‘Project Hail Mary’ easily earns my highest possible recommendation, an emotional, touching and remarkably crafted film that’s nothing short of perfect. This is one outstanding piece of cinema that should have plenty to offer for just about everyone and is not to be missed. At the absolute least this one is well worth the time and money to rent and check out, but don’t be the slightest bit surprised if you end up wanting to purchase a copy after watching.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Project Hail Mary’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in a varying Aspect Ratio that alters between 1.78:1 and 2.39:1. The video presentation looks outstanding as a whole and it provides a clean, sharp and beautifully detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any noticeable issues or troubles to be uncovered throughout. Detail is marvelous on character specifics, the expansive interior of the ship and the external scenes in space, along with everything else and the Dolby Vision HDR perfects many elements throughout by offering a wider color palette that absolutely shines and is perfectly boosted by deep, rich and clean black levels. Overall, this is a spectacular Ultra High Definition presentation that delivers splendidly every step of the way and it should easily excite fans as well as newcomers.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack offers a crisp, clean and notably immersive audio presentation throughout. It consistently utilizes all seven available channels to send music, space and ship related effects, plus quite a bit more repeatedly overtaking the available channels and never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a tremendous Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that regularly enhances the viewing experience and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Project Hail Mary’ features a few enjoyable extras including an ‘Audio Commentary with Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’, along with a collection of ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 10 minutes in length altogether) and the Behind the Scenes Featurette ‘Earth’s Favorite Eridian’ (running approximately 8 minutes).

*Please note: The above images were provided by Amazon MGM Studios and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of Amazon MGM Studios and any other respective owners.

–

Film Rating: 10/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

–

‘Project Hail Mary’ is Now Available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD from Amazon MGM Studios & Alliance Entertainment

–

You can purchase ‘Project Hail Mary’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

*Screen-Connections.com is an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases