7
Project Hail Mary
(thelemmy.club)
This movie is goofy and not in a good way. I felt like I was watching a Pixar movie for toddlers. Everything is almost instant gratification writ large on screen. Was this movie made for toddlers? I feel like I'm missing something. Why is this film a box office success and so highly rated? Is everyone seriously depressed and easily charmed? Why did we need to see Ryan Gosling spinning and bumping into stuff in the spaceship so often. Why is this film so goofy. I'm utterly perplexed.
This was explained at the end of the movie. So, spoilers ahead.
He was disoriented when he woke up, and he was sent up with no training in a zero gravity environment. Of course he is going to struggle moving around at first. Add to that the confusion and utter terror of realizing he is the only one alive on board, with very little clue as to what he's doing there. It's clear that he learns to navigate though, I don't recall it being much of a thing later in the movie.
As for the rest, I see where you're coming from. It is by no means an intellectual masterpiece, but the story is quite moving in my opinion. I found the unlikely friendship between him and Rocky quite beautiful, both all alone in the vacuum of space, trying to save their world. The music was also fantastic and added a lot to the movie. Finally, I personally found the goofyness quite charming, and I think that is a matter of taste at the end of the day. I went in with no expectations and came out with a smile on my face, as I really enjoyed it. Had I expected a super serious epic story, my opinion might have been different too.
One gripe I do have is that it isn't really explained why he lost his memory and why the other crewmembers were dead while he's fine. Perhaps the book offers an explanation there, I don't know, but in the movie it kind of feels like "it is this way because otherwise the plot doesn't work"