June 8, 2026 by Haley Hammer (‘29)
With this being the last edition of The Lightning Rod for this year, I saw it very fitting to do what I love to write most, which is entertainment, specifically in this case, movie reviews.
Recently, an amazing movie has hit the theatres, and I had the privilege of seeing it. If you do not want any spoilers, I suggest clicking off this article, and reading another one of our amazing stories.
Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi adventure starring Ryan Gosling and it is based on the bestselling novel by Andy Weir (which is also very good and I recommend). It follows Gosling’s character Ryan Grace, a former microbiologist who now teaches middle-school science. He wakes up aboard a spaceship with no recollection on how he got there, and sees his other two crewmates dead, but over time he slowly pieces together his mission through flashbacks.
The conflict in the story is the scientists discover a microorganism called Astrophage, which feeds on energy from the sun. Astrophage is spreading through the sun causing it to dim, and if they leave it, the temperatures plummet, and billions will die.The head scientist, Eva Stratt, takes charge of the world’s response, and the scientists discover that a nearby star called Tau Ceti isn’t being affected, so they try and figure out why.
Ryland Grace ends up being chosen (not by choice) on a suicide mission, and it connects back to the beginning.
When Grace gets to Tau Ceti he ends up seeing another spacecraft, so he goes and explores and meets an alien named Rocky, whose planet is also a victim of Astrophage. At first the two cannot speak, so they communicate through musical tones, being his species perceives differently.
There is a friendship between Rocky and Grace, and it is the emotional core of the story. They teach each other language, science, and engineering. Many consider Rocky to be one of the most lovable alien characters ever written.
They end up solving the mystery of the predator organism, Taumoba that naturally eats Astrophage, and that is the reason for Tau Cati being healthy.
After they separate, Grace realizes Rocky’s ship is getting destroyed, and he will die before he reaches his home planet. He becomes the hero and repairs Rocky’s ship, and scarifies his life for Rocky’s.
After this, Grace never returns to earth, and is shown teaching young aliens on Rocky’s home planet.
This movie follows the book pretty closely, but some details are streamlined and shortened for pacing. I loved watching this movie, the casting was great, and I think this is another success for Andy Weir, after his another adaptation of The Martian.
I recommend this movie, it’s a 5/5!