If you are a fan of Andy Weir or science fiction, you'll love Project Hail Mary. It retains the book's hard science, problem-solving under pressure and humor.
The story is essentially a chain of scientific puzzles. Each solution creates a new constraint.
The tension comes from figuring things out.
It’s just a great story.
But the movie also is full of familiar themes about sacrifice, vocation, and what it means to “save” others.
The protagonist, Ryland Grace, is not a willing hero at first—he’s drafted into a mission to save humanity.
For those of you with some familiarly with the biblical stories of Jonah or even Moses, Grace resists the calling.
If his vocation is to save earth, he must do so despite fear or reluctance. His enthusiasm is not the point, but rather his obedience to a higher good, including the sacrifice he has to make, for others. Again, those familiar with the Christian or Jewish themes of sacrifice and substitutionary atonement will see the parallels.
Grace’s transformation from self-centeredness to love and service also is a story about redemption.
The relationship with the alien Rocky is key to the story and so you might also hear echoes of “love your neighbor” and questions about “who is my neighbor (the parable of the Good Samaritan), on a cosmic scale.
Some might find the idea odd, at first, but there also is a scientific parallel to the way Catholics are taught to approach faith itself. Some might argue faith is not central to scientific inquiry.
It is a common misconception that science is a purely "objective" pursuit devoid of belief, while religion is a "blind" leap into the dark. In reality, both systems rely on a specific architecture.
Science cannot prove itself using its own methods. To even begin an experiment, a scientist must operate on several unprovable assumptions that necessary are a form of intellectual faith:
Uniformity of Nature: The belief that the laws of physics are the same in Tokyo as they are on Mars, and the same today as they will be tomorrow
The Intelligibility of the Universe: The assumption that the human mind is actually capable of perceiving and understanding the "logic" of the cosmos
Trust in Testimony: No scientist can replicate every experiment ever done. They must have "faith" in the peer-review process and the honesty of the global scientific community
Predictability: If we don't assume the universe is predictable, the scientific method stalls before it starts.
Basically, science requires faith that the universe is orderly. You might think “reason” is an odd approach to religion (I sure did). But the Catechism has faith and reason in Part one, section one, chapter one. It is a foundational approach.
Unlike "fideism" (faith without reason) or "rationalism" (reason without faith), the Catholic approach is based on “checks and balances:”:
Without reason, human thought tends to slide into extremes either of Fideism (Faith without Reason) which leads to superstition, fanaticism, and "blind" obedience, or “rationalism” (what matters is only what can be measured). If faith doesn't have to be reasonable, then anything can be justified in the name of religion.
God is rational (so the universe is ordered), not capricious
Faith is informed by reason: Faith provides a broader context for the "why" behind the "how" that science discovers
Non-Contradiction: Because God is the author of both the physical world (science) and revelation (faith), the two cannot truly contradict one another (science uncovers the footprints of God)
Reason informs faith because the universe is a coherent whole.
If a scientific discovery seems to contradict a religious doctrine, the Catholic approach assumes either:
The science is incomplete (the data is wrong), or
Our theological interpretation is flawed (we are reading the scripture too literally or narrowly).
So Project Hail Mary is about the scientific method: Hypothesis; testing; trust in unseen causes. But that is not so different from reasoned belief.
Obviously, Grace and Rocky collaborate to save two planets and life forms. So the notion of stewardship and salvation are involved.
Even the name “Grace” is hard to ignore. In Christian theology, grace is a free, unearned gift. “Flawed” Ryland Grace “does the right thing” in spite of his initial instincts and preferences.
Project Hail Mary is a really-entertaining movie with notable religious themes:
Salvation requires sacrifice
Moral growth requires choice
Love extends beyond boundaries
Hope operates under uncertainty
Why should we sacrifice for others?
What makes a life meaningful?
Who counts as “neighbor”?
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