Every once in a while a movie surprises you: not just with spectacle or clever twists, but with heart. Project Hail Mary moved me. Adapted from Andy Weir’s highly acclaimed novel, Project Hail Mary is one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen in a long time: funny, imaginative, and genuinely affecting. What lingered with me most after the credits rolled wasn’t the wow factor of the production (although all $248 million of its production costs make the movie visually stunning). What lingered with me was its portrayal of friendship.
That might sound strange for a movie about saving the world from an extinction-level threat. But at its core, the story is about two unlikely friends learning to trust each other, and sacrifice for one another.
And that’s something our culture desperately needs to recover.
The Forgotten Love: Friendship
In his classic book The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis writes about the different kinds of love that shape human life. Among them is what he calls philia: the Greek word for love between friends. Lewis famously noted that friendship has often been the most overlooked form of love in the modern world. We celebrate romance. We cherish family. But friendship? We tend to treat it as optional.
Yet Scripture and Christian theology suggest otherwise. Friendship is one of God’s gifts for shaping our character. Proverbs tells us that “iron sharpens iron” (Prov. 27:17). Jesus calls his disciples friends. Throughout the Bible, God uses friendship as a means of grace. Project Hail Mary beautifully illustrates this.
The relationship between Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) and Rocky (the extraterrestrial being) begins with uncertainty, fear, and misunderstanding. They come from completely different worlds. Communication is difficult. Trust has to be earned. But slowly, patiently, friendship forms. And through that friendship, both of them change. Lewis says that friendship “is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.”
The Sanctifying Power of Friendship
One of the most compelling aspects of the movie is how friendship transforms Grace. When we first meet him, he isn’t the stereotypical hero. He’s not naturally courageous. He’s not particularly self-sacrificial. In fact, part of his backstory reveals that when confronted with a moment requiring bravery, he failed. That’s what makes his eventual heroism so powerful.
Grace becomes courageous not because he suddenly discovers some hidden reservoir of bravery, but because friendship draws it out of him.
Anyone who has walked closely with another person knows this dynamic. Real friendship exposes our weaknesses. It challenges our selfishness. It forces us to grow. In God’s hands, friendship is sanctifying. God uses it to shape us into people capable of greater love.
Grace’s growing loyalty to Rocky becomes the catalyst for his transformation. The more he cares about his friend, the more willing he becomes to risk himself. Love leads to sacrifice. That’s a deeply Christian idea. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:13).
Heroism and the “Next Best Thing”
Another theme the film captures well is the nature of heroism.
We often imagine heroes as people who are naturally brave: individuals who possess extraordinary courage from the start. But Project Hail Mary presents a different vision. Grace becomes heroic not through one dramatic moment but through a series of small decisions.
He keeps doing the next best thing. He solves the next problem. He takes the next step of responsibility. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
This is such an important corrective to how we think about leadership and courage. In our culture, we often glorify heroic leadership that seems disconnected from the slow, faithful work that actually produces it.
But most real heroism is forged in ordinary faithfulness. In many ways, that mirrors the Christian life. Faithfulness to God usually doesn’t look like grand gestures. It looks like obedience today. Loving the person in front of you. Taking the next faithful step even when you’re afraid. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Lk. 16:10).
Humor, Humanity, and a Great Performance
Project Hail Mary isn’t just thoughtful—it’s also a lot of fun. Ryan Gosling delivers a terrific performance, bringing both humor and vulnerability to the role. The film has several genuine laugh-out-loud moments, which makes the emotional beats land even harder. The balance between comedy, tension, and heart is remarkably well done.
Science fiction can sometimes become cold or overly technical, but Project Hail Mary remains deeply human throughout.
Why Stories Like This Matter
One of the reasons stories resonate so deeply is that they echo truths about the world God made. This movie reminds us that friendship matters. It reminds us that courage can grow. It reminds us that love pushes us beyond what we thought we were capable of.
Perhaps most importantly, it reminds us that heroes are often made not through extraordinary beginnings but through ordinary faithfulness.
In a world that often feels lonely and cynical, stories about sacrificial friendship are more than entertaining: they’re hopeful. And they point us ultimately to the great Friend who came for us: Jesus.
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Photo by Anshul Jain on Unsplash