Project Hail Mary

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edwin drood
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Project Hail Mary

Post by edwin drood »

Opens this week, Friday officially but most places opening Thursday afternoon . Anyone else planning on seeing it?

https://youtu.be/m08TxIsFTRI?si=B52rVHa32-g-QWJK
WeeVikes
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by WeeVikes »

edwin drood wrote: 15 Mar 2026 13:56 pm Opens this week, Friday officially but most places opening Thursday afternoon . Anyone else planning on seeing it?

https://youtu.be/m08TxIsFTRI?si=B52rVHa32-g-QWJK
Absolutely!

I just finished the book and am really looking forward to it!
FrankTheTank
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by FrankTheTank »

I am really looking forward to it. I have no read the book, but I love The Martian, and watch it every time it is on. That movie has the right amount of everything IMO. Suspense, science fiction, humor, etc. I have pretty high expectations for Project Hail Mary.
Edson
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by Edson »

I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
3dender
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by 3dender »

Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
WeeVikes
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by WeeVikes »

3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
That’s an interesting comment. What do you mean?

I have read the book, BTW.

Thanks.
3dender
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by 3dender »

WeeVikes wrote: 18 Mar 2026 15:22 pm
3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
That’s an interesting comment. What do you mean?

I have read the book, BTW.

Thanks.
I found it pretty formulaic... some impossible situation occurs which he quickly solves with 3-5 pages of chemistry/physics that reads like a textbook, rinse and repeat x20 or so.

I also found the narrative voice obnoxious and inauthentic. No actual human being would talk and think to themselves in pure snarky quips for months or years on end. Especially in such a serious situation.
WeeVikes
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by WeeVikes »

3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 17:30 pm
WeeVikes wrote: 18 Mar 2026 15:22 pm
3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
That’s an interesting comment. What do you mean?

I have read the book, BTW.

Thanks.
I found it pretty formulaic... some impossible situation occurs which he quickly solves with 3-5 pages of chemistry/physics that reads like a textbook, rinse and repeat x20 or so.

I also found the narrative voice obnoxious and inauthentic. No actual human being would talk and think to themselves in pure snarky quips for months or years on end. Especially in such a serious situation.
Fair.

Thanks, man!
Edson
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by Edson »

3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
Interesting take, thanks for the response. And you are right, it has been all over the promotional material. I was surprised with that move since you do not see that coming in the book at all, at least I didn't. I don't want to call it a twist but it is certainly a surprise when reading.

You are the first person I have come across that had anything negative to say about the book. I couldn't put the book down and was actually disappointed when I finished it because I wanted more. I almost started rereading it, tried to jump to The Martian to keep that feeling going but ended up stopping for a pallet cleanser series instead. I do agree though this movie is going to be big.
3dender
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by 3dender »

Edson wrote: 19 Mar 2026 08:25 am
3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
Interesting take, thanks for the response. And you are right, it has been all over the promotional material. I was surprised with that move since you do not see that coming in the book at all, at least I didn't. I don't want to call it a twist but it is certainly a surprise when reading.

You are the first person I have come across that had anything negative to say about the book. I couldn't put the book down and was actually disappointed when I finished it because I wanted more. I almost started rereading it, tried to jump to The Martian to keep that feeling going but ended up stopping for a pallet cleanser series instead. I do agree though this movie is going to be big.
For hard sci-fi I prefer grittier stuff where main characters die... most recently from Adrian Tchaikovsky. If you liked Project Hail Mary you should check out Children of Time. He also does some great space opera (Shards of Earth) and good standalone (Alien Clay).
WeeVikes
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by WeeVikes »

3dender wrote: 19 Mar 2026 11:01 am
Edson wrote: 19 Mar 2026 08:25 am
3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
Interesting take, thanks for the response. And you are right, it has been all over the promotional material. I was surprised with that move since you do not see that coming in the book at all, at least I didn't. I don't want to call it a twist but it is certainly a surprise when reading.

You are the first person I have come across that had anything negative to say about the book. I couldn't put the book down and was actually disappointed when I finished it because I wanted more. I almost started rereading it, tried to jump to The Martian to keep that feeling going but ended up stopping for a pallet cleanser series instead. I do agree though this movie is going to be big.
For hard sci-fi I prefer grittier stuff where main characters die... most recently from Adrian Tchaikovsky. If you liked Project Hail Mary you should check out Children of Time. He also does some great space opera (Shards of Earth) and good standalone (Alien Clay).
Did you read any of “The Expanse” series? If so, what did you think? I enjoyed it a lot.
3dender
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by 3dender »

WeeVikes wrote: 19 Mar 2026 15:29 pm
3dender wrote: 19 Mar 2026 11:01 am
Edson wrote: 19 Mar 2026 08:25 am
3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
Interesting take, thanks for the response. And you are right, it has been all over the promotional material. I was surprised with that move since you do not see that coming in the book at all, at least I didn't. I don't want to call it a twist but it is certainly a surprise when reading.

You are the first person I have come across that had anything negative to say about the book. I couldn't put the book down and was actually disappointed when I finished it because I wanted more. I almost started rereading it, tried to jump to The Martian to keep that feeling going but ended up stopping for a pallet cleanser series instead. I do agree though this movie is going to be big.
For hard sci-fi I prefer grittier stuff where main characters die... most recently from Adrian Tchaikovsky. If you liked Project Hail Mary you should check out Children of Time. He also does some great space opera (Shards of Earth) and good standalone (Alien Clay).
Did you read any of “The Expanse” series? If so, what did you think? I enjoyed it a lot.
I didn't read it but I really liked the Amazon series. My son read it and really liked it. I might give it a go at some point, not actually sure why I didn't pick it up, I think maybe I just felt like the show was enough for me at the time.

Does the series have a conclusion? Maybe that's why I didn't pick it up, I like my book series to have hard endings.
Edson
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by Edson »

3dender wrote: 19 Mar 2026 11:01 am
Edson wrote: 19 Mar 2026 08:25 am
3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
Interesting take, thanks for the response. And you are right, it has been all over the promotional material. I was surprised with that move since you do not see that coming in the book at all, at least I didn't. I don't want to call it a twist but it is certainly a surprise when reading.

You are the first person I have come across that had anything negative to say about the book. I couldn't put the book down and was actually disappointed when I finished it because I wanted more. I almost started rereading it, tried to jump to The Martian to keep that feeling going but ended up stopping for a pallet cleanser series instead. I do agree though this movie is going to be big.
For hard sci-fi I prefer grittier stuff where main characters die... most recently from Adrian Tchaikovsky. If you liked Project Hail Mary you should check out Children of Time. He also does some great space opera (Shards of Earth) and good standalone (Alien Clay).
Thanks for the recommendation, just checked him out and that book looks interesting. I will definitely download that one next.
WeeVikes
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by WeeVikes »

3dender wrote: 20 Mar 2026 07:09 am
WeeVikes wrote: 19 Mar 2026 15:29 pm
3dender wrote: 19 Mar 2026 11:01 am
Edson wrote: 19 Mar 2026 08:25 am
3dender wrote: 18 Mar 2026 11:29 am
Edson wrote: 18 Mar 2026 08:31 am I can't wait to see this. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend not looking too much into this film before seeing it.
Spoiler
Might be too late due to the trailers but in the book you do not see the "first contact" aspect coming at all. At least I didn't, I did not read anything about the book before reading it though.
It's all over the trailers and the promotional materials. They even released a La-La Land mock-up with Ryan Gosling dancing with his alien buddy.

In any case, I kinda hated the book but that was partly because you can tell exactly how deliberately tailored it is to become a blockbuster movie starring somebody like Matt Damon or Ryan Gosling... so in that sense it'll probably be a pretty enjoyable blockbuster.
Interesting take, thanks for the response. And you are right, it has been all over the promotional material. I was surprised with that move since you do not see that coming in the book at all, at least I didn't. I don't want to call it a twist but it is certainly a surprise when reading.

You are the first person I have come across that had anything negative to say about the book. I couldn't put the book down and was actually disappointed when I finished it because I wanted more. I almost started rereading it, tried to jump to The Martian to keep that feeling going but ended up stopping for a pallet cleanser series instead. I do agree though this movie is going to be big.
For hard sci-fi I prefer grittier stuff where main characters die... most recently from Adrian Tchaikovsky. If you liked Project Hail Mary you should check out Children of Time. He also does some great space opera (Shards of Earth) and good standalone (Alien Clay).
Did you read any of “The Expanse” series? If so, what did you think? I enjoyed it a lot.
I didn't read it but I really liked the Amazon series. My son read it and really liked it. I might give it a go at some point, not actually sure why I didn't pick it up, I think maybe I just felt like the show was enough for me at the time.

Does the series have a conclusion? Maybe that's why I didn't pick it up, I like my book series to have hard endings.
Yes, it does. As you probably know, the series is basically three trilogies, all with essentially the same characters and settings. For reasons I won’t get into so as not to spoil things for you, the third trilogy would be somewhat challenging, but not impossible to produce as written for TV. The TV show does not reflect the book series 100%, but the essence of the story is still there, and the changes were made with the participation of the authors, so I personally had no problem with the differences. The final book brings the overall story to a conclusion, but doesn’t tie off all the loose ends. It intentionally leaves a few mysteries. There is one specifically into which I would have appreciated more insight, but I grant the authors that choice.

They have a new trilogy, “The Captive’s War”, on which they are currently working. The second book of the series will be released on 14 Apr. So far this series is further “out there” than “The Expanse” by a wide margin, and it is 100 “gritty”, easily fitting your definition. I’m looking forward to book 2.
3dender
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by 3dender »

WeeVikes wrote: 20 Mar 2026 17:09 pm Yes, it does. As you probably know, the series is basically three trilogies, all with essentially the same characters and settings. For reasons I won’t get into so as not to spoil things for you, the third trilogy would be somewhat challenging, but not impossible to produce as written for TV. The TV show does not reflect the book series 100%, but the essence of the story is still there, and the changes were made with the participation of the authors, so I personally had no problem with the differences. The final book brings the overall story to a conclusion, but doesn’t tie off all the loose ends. It intentionally leaves a few mysteries. There is one specifically into which I would have appreciated more insight, but I grant the authors that choice.

They have a new trilogy, “The Captive’s War”, on which they are currently working. The second book of the series will be released on 14 Apr. So far this series is further “out there” than “The Expanse” by a wide margin, and it is 100 “gritty”, easily fitting your definition. I’m looking forward to book 2.
Cool I will check it out, thanks.
Backesdraft
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Re: Project Hail Mary

Post by Backesdraft »

Saw it tonight with the fam. Everyone really enjoyed it. Very fun.

I will say that I haven’t read the book so I can’t compare the two. Movie is pretty darn good though.