OPINION: The second time the CNA talks ‘Project Hail Mary’

This will probably be the last time we mention “Project Hail Mary” in this newspaper. Forgive us. It’s a pretty good movie.

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Bravery, as if encapsulating the feeling could ever be possible in an English word, can be described in two ways. One is the heroic, idealistic vision of bravery — the hero who sacrifices themselves in a noble ball of fire. The other, more cynical view of it, is foolish self-destruction, and often a more realistic view of the process.

That is how Ryland Grace initially defines what his alien buddy Rocky is attempting to communicate in “Project Hail Mary” — the feeling of performing a duty beyond oneself. It’s where the dynamic between the two has a small clash.

Rocky, an alien life form best described as a golden retriever-sized crab made of rocks, communicates directly and honestly in a way the cynical and jokey Grace clashes with. Grace puts up an emotional wall and says sacrificing yourself for others is stupid and reckless. But, he silently adds the vocabulary to the translated dictionary between the two — bravery.

Even when “Project Hail Mary” feels derivative of other space movies, it’s hard not to appreciate what feels like a throwback to more optimistic views of the universe beyond the atmosphere. The same feeling such as back when the space race was underlined by Kennedy’s quote, “We choose to go to the Moon ... not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

In the setup for “Project Hail Mary,” which envisions a harmonic Earth where governments will willingly cooperate on stopping the end of civilization (a utopian idea far from our current inability to agree whether killing people is bad), there’s a dooming feeling that the world is already too late to be saved.

Small microorganisms called astrophage are eating away at the sun’s light, lowering the Earth’s temperature with the prediction of a food shortage on the way. Grace’s students challenge him with the uncomfortable question, and Grace can’t answer it easily.

The world’s governments have a secret plan, though. A rocket will travel to another solar system to find a solution to astrophage and save Earth. This is the titular Project Hail Mary. 2016 Aaron Rodgers wasn’t available.

The major catch of the project comes from the one-way ticket the Hail Mary’s crew books when the rocket pushes past the atmosphere. The ship isn’t coming back. It’s humankind’s last-ditch effort to save themselves.

When Grace, a high school teacher who tends to do more comedian work than actual instruction, ends up as the sole passenger of the Hail Mary, his memory missing, humanity is probably doomed. Susceptible to error and fear in a brutally human way, Ryan Gosling’s performance as Grace draws from a natural humanity in the character.

It’s what makes Gosling such an effective actor. Able to deliver the smallest comedic lines with a punchy delivery, Gosling imbues his star role with simultaneous everyman and nerd energy. From the moment he flops out of his coma bed to when he gyrates his hips with Rocky, it’s a committed performance from one of the best in the business.

Grace’s humanity is then synthesized on screen with an alien species in Rocky, who’s as equally inquisitive and playfully curious as Grace. This is when the movie plays its strongest card. Part “E.T.” and part “Arrival,” the fascination in communicating with an alien is equally terrifying and exciting.

In the course of the movie, Rocky’s arrival to the Hail Mary is Grace’s biggest source of hope. The isolation of space suddenly being in contact with a like-minded faceless face affirms the necessity of Grace’s mission.

The first contact between the two is where directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller get their chance to inject their brand of humor. Known for “21 Jump Street” and “The LEGO Movie,” the natural humor from Gosling and the puppetry silliness of Rocky is the heart and soul of “Project Hail Mary” and is deeply memorable.

Lord and Miller’s first movie in over a decade (although their misadventures with “Star Wars” and “Spider-Verse” should be noted), “Project Hail Mary” shows the filmmakers expanding their scope to the stars, with a massive budget somewhere between $200-248 million. At that price point, it better be worth it.

For the most part, it works. Space is portrayed with a potent visual majesty and the compartments of the Hail Mary have a distinctively rich feel so much mid-budget science fiction films forget.

Yet, my one issue with the movie mostly stems from editing and what’s missing from the original novel. In adaptation, the cutting of much of the early sequences and speeding through the initial experiments with astrophage and Grace’s first moments out of his space coma is disappointing.

With word that test screenings were 225 minutes long (an absurd length I would absolutely love to watch), what’s left of “Project Hail Mary” is a refined galactic feature which latches to our eternal fascination with the stars. The fact I’m itching for more even when the movie is still 156 minutes long is a great sign.

Spacewalks, orbits, zero gravity, the hits are all here. Add in soundtrack motifs which recall the intense moments of “Interstellar,” and a bona fide space movie is all here. Add in everything having to do with Rocky as an X-factor spice, and “Project Hail Mary” is a hit.

The distinct heart of the movie isn’t lost in the runtime either. Grace’s time in space is in constant conflict with what his time on Earth was like. Some choices don’t have to be so defining. It doesn’t matter if it’s for humankind or one friend. Bravery can’t exist just for oneself.