Midweek Mention... Project Hail Mary

This week on Bad Dads Film Review, the dads head into deep space for Project Hail Mary — a Ryan Gosling-led Andy Weir adaptation about astrophage, reluctant heroism, alien engineering, musical communication and the most loveable rock-spider in modern sci-fi.What we coveredThe return to Podcast Mountain after a week off, with Sidey explaining why recent recording plans went slightly sideways.Sidey and Reegs seeing The Streets at Alexandra Palace, immediately considering Iceland, and generally having a far better time than Sidey later had in Malta.Malta being very hot, not especially relaxing, and a strong avoid unless you are on the picturesque ferry to Gozo.Family hotel movie nights, including a MonsterVerse run and the crushing parental disappointment of Raiders of the Lost Ark being switched off for being boring.Ryan Gosling news from Comic-Con, including Ghost Rider, Star Wars, and whether anyone can make Ghost Rider look good on screen.Gosling’s range: Only God Forgives, Lars and the Real Girl, The Gray Man, blockbuster charm and oddball credibility.Andy Weir, The Martian, and why the dads respond to optimistic science-problem movies where clever people solve practical disasters.The central crisis: astrophage is eating the Sun’s energy, reducing solar output and threatening Earth.The Hail Mary mission as humanity’s last desperate throw, sent to Tau Ceti because that system appears mysteriously resistant to the astrophage problem.Ryland Grace waking from stasis with no memory, dead crewmates, a HAL-like computer and a beard that suggests deep-space personal care needs work.The flashbacks revealing Grace as a molecular biologist turned school teacher recruited by Eva Stratt to help understand astrophage.The moral ugliness of Grace not volunteering for the suicide mission, then being sedated and sent anyway after the intended crew are killed.The grim Earthside stakes: collapsing sunlight, food-chain panic, frightened children and governments handing Stratt extraordinary power.First contact with Rocky, the engineer from Erid whose own planet is facing the same astrophage disaster.Rocky’s musical language, the translation process, and the dads’ comparison with Close Encounters of the Third Kind.The two-ship friendship: different atmospheres, pressure barriers, xenonite tunnels and two scientists learning to trust each other through diagrams and experiments.Rocky’s look: rock-like, spider-like, toy-like and somehow instantly endearing.The discovery of taumoeba, the organism that eats astrophage and offers a possible solution for both Earth and Erid.Rocky saving Grace at huge personal risk, then Grace choosing to use his remaining fuel to save Rocky when he realises Rocky’s ship is in danger.The film’s optimistic message: cooperation across species, cultures and worlds is the only thing that saves anyone.Grace ending up on Erid, teaching alien children about Earth, and the dads enjoying the full-circle return to teaching.The reported $200 million budget, worldwide box office heading toward $700 million, UK-built Hail Mary sets, and Gosling’s likely “double bubble” as star and producer.Key moments / quotesSidey says “hopes were high for Project Hail Mary” because of the Gosling/Andy Weir pedigree.Dan explains the title through American football: the last desperate throw into the end zone.The dads note that Grace “didn’t fucking volunteer”, which makes Earth’s plan morally spicy even if the stakes are existential.Rocky’s musical tones immediately bring Close Encounters to mind.The group enjoy the idea of a sci-fi film built around “scientist guy figuring shit out”.Cris appreciates that the film is warmer and more colourful than the bleaker spaceship sci-fi he usually struggles with.Sidey reads the Grace/Rocky relationship as a story about different worlds working together on the same problem.Cris highlights the happy ending, the little rock children and the satisfying “don’t go back / actually he should go back” emotional turn.Sidey notes the film has done serious box office business against a huge production budget.The final verdict lands simply: “Strong? Strong. Strong. Yeah. Strong.”VerdictThe dads give Project Hail Mary a unanimous strong recommend. They respond to the Andy Weir problem-solving structure, Ryan Gosling’s easy likeability, the film’s optimistic tone, and especially Rocky — an alien sidekick/friend/co-scientist who turns the film from simple survival story into something warmer and more memorable.It is big-budget, accessible sci-fi with a hopeful streak: funny, emotional, smart enough to feel satisfying, and powered by the very Bad Dads-friendly idea that cooperation beats panic, even when the Sun is being eaten.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. 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