Just seven days after its release to the US, “Project Hail Mary,” a science fiction film by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, grossed $164 million, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 2026. 

According to the hundreds of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, this film scored a highly impressive 95%. I, however, would have thrown more than five percent of my tomatoes. 

This film has been compared by many to Interstellar, a heartbreaking movie about the main character, Joseph Cooper, choosing a space adventure over his children, and the consequences that follow that decision. Project Hail Mary, however, is about a middle school teacher who wakes up from a coma, lost in space, and slowly remembers his life and how he got there. Along the way, he becomes friends with a rock named “Rocky”. 

This film, to me, had a heavy layer of millennial humor. Which, as a Gen-Zer, I couldn’t help but turn my nose up at. While there were moments where the humor was comforting and respectfully silly, at times it was hard not to cringe. Especially in moments where the movie attendees next to me boomed with laughter.

I wouldn’t say that I hated this movie; I just wouldn’t spend 20 dollars to see it again. It simply never had that major moment of extreme suspense or emotion. Which could partly be because it’s that classic Hollywood storyline, where the main character has a crisis, makes an unsuspecting friend along the way, and the crisis, against all odds, is averted.

Looking past the seemingly sour and indifferent review I have about this movie, I did have a moment of appreciation in the final moments of the film. The main character, Ryland Grace, wakes up after his interstellar adventure to an alarm clock. He turns it off and grabs coffee when he hears a knock on the door. He opens it to find his space companion, Rocky, waiting for him. They take a walk on the beach and talk about their plans for the day. After, they cut to a scene of Grace teaching similar space creatures to Rocky about space. It was a great ending to this movie that gave me a lot more respect for the film as a whole.