Project Hail Mary Trailer Reaction - Science Fiction Book - Apocalyptic Fiction Book

The video dropped sooner than expected. Slava and Jonathan team up with special guest Spenser to react to the newly released Project Hail Mary movie trailer! 🚀 How will the adaptation stack up against Andy Weir’s novel?

Will it live up to the hype? Will Rocky steal the show? Drop your thoughts on the trailer in the comments—did they get it right, or are we in for a spacewreck?

YouTube Reaction: https://youtu.be/mivtHl-R3Nc (see what we look like)

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Creators and Guests

Host

Jonathan

Host

Slava

What is The Side Quest Book Club Podcast?

Join Slava and Jonathan as they discuss the books they are reading. Explore world-building, characters, and story development—and share some laughs along the way. Side Quest Book Club — a literary adventure podcast.

Jonathan (00:07.282)
Welcome to SideQuest reactions, everyone. This is your first time seeing us on screen. We've got Spencer Spencerdom and Slava, the normal crew.

Slava (00:18.156)
Sorry to disappoint.

Spenser (00:20.568)
And now that you've seen our faces, go hit that unsubscribe button.

Slava (00:24.842)
Unring that bell and close your browser.

Jonathan (00:28.852)
Get rid of YouTube forever. use your time for other things. But Project Hail Mary has a trailer out and you guys have been hounding us to react to it. So we are jumping on real quick to do just that. We will watch it through, make some commentary, and then we will watch it through a second time pausing to make additional commentary.

Let's get into it.

Jonathan (01:08.882)
Ryan Gosling as Jesus.

Spenser (01:11.499)
You

Jonathan (01:22.578)
I like that cut.

Spenser (01:24.126)
was good.

Slava (01:25.397)
He's not an astronaut.

Jonathan (01:27.442)
Yeah, plays one on TV though.

Jonathan (01:46.452)
Nice. Cutting to the beat, I like that.

Jonathan (01:54.772)
that's fun.

Slava (02:07.201)
Nah, he said it.

Jonathan (02:09.554)
He said the name. That's good. It's like Pokemon.

Spenser (02:17.652)
Interesting.

Jonathan (02:24.66)
It's like a type of joke that you'd make, Slava.

Spenser (02:26.868)
that's correct.

Slava (02:28.596)
Yes.

Spenser (02:36.836)
ooo, goosebumps with that music.

Jonathan (02:37.288)
music's vibin'.

Slava (02:46.932)
Strat doing karaoke is a weird take.

Jonathan (02:50.61)
Yes, it is a weird take.

Jonathan (03:17.329)
High brow in there.

Jonathan (03:21.214)
You know, it's not how I pictured Rocky's ship.

Spenser (03:25.842)
Yeah, they made it look better than the book describes it.

Spenser (03:32.595)
What?

Slava (03:38.045)
Oh look Sylvester Stallone.

Spenser (03:38.853)
they spoiled the best reveal of the book.

Jonathan (03:42.351)
Yeah.

Slava (03:44.735)
I think that kind of had to.

Jonathan (03:58.1)
Close. That's right. Don't pick on him. Don't pick on Rocky.

Spenser (03:58.388)
You

Slava (04:02.282)
All right.

Spenser (04:03.219)
Nice.

Jonathan (04:04.692)
So, first initial thoughts of the trailer.

Slava (04:08.509)
Excited. man, when I first saw that come up in my screen on my algorithm I was very excited. we talked about in the episode that they were thinking about making it with Ryan Gosling and Lo and behold they made it with Ryan Gosling.

Jonathan (04:22.846)
They committed. Hey, girl.

Spenser (04:24.732)
Yeah, that looks really good.

Slava (04:28.032)
I just want him to take his fingers and point it rock and go, "what do you want?"

the notebook and Hail Mary mashup.

Jonathan (04:37.332)
combined. Yeah. To your point though, Spencer, I think that they did ruin the movie.

Spenser (04:38.673)
You

Spenser (04:44.114)
Yeah, yeah, to me that was the that was the biggest reveal in the book, in my opinion. So I was when I first watching that, I was kind of angry that they introduced Rocky right in the trailer. But I suppose maybe they're doing that just to get build the hype for it.

Slava (04:44.767)
Don't watch it guys.

Jonathan (04:48.668)
Right. Right.

Slava (05:04.585)
Yeah, a couple commenters on YouTube underneath that trailer said the same thing, but somebody came back and said, if they didn't show Rocky, it'd be Ryan Gosling in space for two hours. And who's going to watch that?

Jonathan (05:19.86)
Speaking of Ryan's, Ryan, not Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, that's his last name, did a movie called Buried where he was in a coffin for 90 minutes. And it was thrilling. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's literally, they don't do any cuts anywhere else. It's literally just him in a coffin for 90 minutes. And it is absolutely riveting. He has a cell phone.

Spenser (05:20.295)
Alright.

Spenser (05:36.754)
I have not seen that. That does sound terrifying, actually.

Slava (05:37.951)
Mm-mm.

Jonathan (05:49.862)
It's really good.

Slava (05:50.526)
Well, the Martian also had Matt Damon alone in space for two hours. That worked.

Jonathan (05:54.118)
Right. So people would watch it. it, know, white room novel life. But I think also to your point of like needing to show Rocky to build some suspense for anyone who hasn't read the book, they're going to go, Whoa, that's an alien. But he's like being kind with it. That's weird. But I, it does feel like he kind of ruined it.

Spenser (05:54.292)
Yeah. Yeah.

Spenser (06:07.614)
Mm-hmm.

Spenser (06:12.146)
Yeah. I wonder if they like introduced Rocky, but then just not show him working together with Ryan or Ryland Grace is the character that could have built some suspense to like, is it a good alien is a bad alien? I don't know. Let's find out.

Jonathan (06:21.662)
Right.

Slava (06:23.974)
Yeah.

Jonathan (06:29.576)
Yeah, they could have changed the trailer where like the ships are next to each other and he's just like, what? And do the reveal there. And then you go, what's happening? And like cut to black there. And then earlier in the trailer, fill it with something else like loving the kids, not having any friends or family. Just him alone in an apartment drinking and then grading kids'

Spenser (06:35.208)
Yeah.

Spenser (06:54.24)
That actually, I don't know, that does actually sound kind of funny. It'd be a great trailer. Produce your own trailer, Jonathan. Let's see it.

Jonathan (06:57.588)
Well, I, you know, I used to, I used to do film. I went to film school. Like a washed out Ryan Gosling. The thing about me? both. Both. Thanks Slava. Well, cutting trailers is like a really interesting and difficult task because if you cut the trailer too well, you ruin everything. And so that'd be like your Herald and Kumars or you're like American pies where you're like

Slava (07:05.011)
Like a washed out Ryan Gosling.

Spenser (07:05.394)
There you go.

Slava (07:09.637)
Both.

Jonathan (07:26.96)
The juice of the movie is literally in that three minutes and it's like not going to get better than what they drew you in with. And then there's movies where there's suspense built like a Lord of the Rings where you're like, I know I'm getting a great adventure. I can't wait to go see it. So, basically you can tell the quality of a film in a trailer. Usually.

Jonathan (07:52.146)
Let's watch it again.

Slava (07:53.854)
do it. thought there was more coming. I have said something else. But you just ended abruptly.

Spenser (07:57.128)
Yeah.

Jonathan (07:59.026)
Yeah, well you guys are... I... Usually. I usually end abruptly.

Spenser (08:27.924)
I wonder how much they'll show him like actually having amnesia. Because in the trailer you don't know that. But yeah.

Jonathan (08:31.998)
Yeah.

Slava (08:35.675)
Right. But I want to say, and maybe I'm talking out of my rear, but I like Ryan Gosling as Rayland Grace. Maybe the trailer is cut so well that he makes it good for me, he sells it, but he seems, the way he's portrayed here with the humor and the dumb jokes, he seems like the Raelynn Grace I remember from reading the book.

Spenser (09:02.324)
Mm.

Jonathan (09:04.446)
I agree. I can't think of anyone else who would be a Ryland.

Slava (09:08.154)
And I'll say this too, Strat is exactly like I pictured her in my mind's eye.

Spenser (09:14.004)
Yeah, I can see that. But if you got like Ryan Reynolds, if you got like Ryan Reynolds to play this, he would just be Deadpool, but in space. So I think it was good that they got this Ryan.

Slava (09:19.623)
That's Trat.

Jonathan (09:27.88)
Facts.

Slava (09:31.848)
Is Ryan Reynolds Deadpool? I think that's Ryan Gosling.

Spenser (09:36.464)
No, it's Ryan Reynolds.

Jonathan (09:36.646)
No, Reynolds.

Slava (09:38.343)
It's Ryan Reynolds? Am I having a seizure? Ryan Reynolds? Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool. Okay. Learn something new every day.

Spenser (09:40.05)
Yeah. Indeed.

Jonathan (09:41.916)
Yes. Yes.

Yes.

This is Ryan Gosling. Ryan Reynolds looks different.

Slava (09:53.798)
Welcome to SciQuest everybody. This is what it is.

Spenser (09:56.189)
You

you

Jonathan (10:01.588)
I like how they got a real lion there.

Jonathan (10:06.792)
I like the camera movement. Makes it feel spacey.

Spenser (10:11.476)
Mmm.

Jonathan (10:22.472)
You know, you know what I would have liked to have seen more in the trailer now that I'm thinking about it is the kind of training when he's on the base, like teaching people and like helping out with the project, building up to it. think I would have liked that to be a little longer, a little more friction on the base.

Spenser (10:37.747)
Mmm.

Slava (10:41.596)
Yeah. That way, less of Rocky, more of these people.

Jonathan (10:47.058)
Right. That's really what I'm thinking about is less less rocky reveal.

Jonathan (10:56.252)
Also, his space suit looks too cool.

Jonathan (11:02.793)
Just me?

Spenser (11:04.518)
Yeah, I can see that. You think it would be something that they had to quickly throw together.

Jonathan (11:16.936)
Yeah, like the other space people that he flew with.

Jonathan (11:26.558)
That security guard was in the bear. He was really good.

Spenser (11:32.466)
I do like this music that they put right here with it. Very suspenseful feeling.

Jonathan (11:34.802)
Yes.

Slava (11:35.258)
Yeah.

Jonathan (11:41.086)
but also kind of ethereal and... fits.

Spenser (11:44.146)
Yeah.

Jonathan (11:52.19)
So you guys remind me, but when he, right coming up here, when he like gets out of the, right here, right there. I don't remember him leaving the spaceship.

Spenser (12:02.664)
He is far from what I can remember. He does like some spacewalks, but on the outside of the ship. But I don't.

Slava (12:03.409)
Hey.

Slava (12:09.423)
Yeah, and that's him burying his coworkers or colleagues.

Jonathan (12:10.228)
Hmm.

Jonathan (12:13.713)
Spenser (12:15.082)
you're right. Yep.

Slava (12:15.361)
He shoots him out into space.

Jonathan (12:17.904)
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I forgot. Also his spaceship's a lot larger than I thought it was going to be. Cause it's like one room. It's supposed to be one room.

Slava (12:19.303)
because they would rot and stink up the spaceship.

Spenser (12:27.461)
Yeah Well, no they describe or Andy Weir describes it in like three different sections in the book

Slava (12:35.75)
Yes. Three Three big sections.

Jonathan (12:35.934)
Does this look like three sections to you? Three, three very mildly large sections.

Slava (12:43.909)
And I want to push back on the comment about his spacesuit. They do have spacesuits in this timeline. And whether they cobbled couple together or not, that seems like a legit spacesuit.

Spenser (12:52.252)
You

Jonathan (12:57.895)
I'm trying to find it.

Spenser (12:59.15)
And also, to be fair, like they did have what, like two years they were working on getting him into space or something like that. I can't remember the timeline, but it was a long time. So I guess they would have had time to throw something together.

Slava (13:06.043)
Yeah.

Slava (13:13.563)
paint it red.

Jonathan (13:17.79)
Fair enough.

Jonathan (13:34.1)
Cut it right here, right?

Spenser (13:37.022)
Yeah.

Jonathan (13:38.856)
Just right there, the thing is reaching out. It ends. Boom.

Slava (13:44.666)
Yep.

Spenser (13:47.078)
Also, they do make Rocky's ship look a lot more technologically advanced than it actually was.

Jonathan (13:56.968)
Let's go back here. Yeah.

Spenser (14:00.5)
I feel like in the book it was just sort of like a giant pyramid floating through space because rocky civilization didn't know about. Was it physics? Yeah, they just knew like they could build something and send it into space. So, that thing looks like super cool. But in the book it's just sort of this. Triangle looking.

Jonathan (14:05.352)
Mm-hmm.

Jonathan (14:12.04)
Physics really. Yeah.

Slava (14:18.544)
Yeah.

Jonathan (14:18.974)
Yeah.

Spenser (14:29.204)
shape is from what I can remember.

Slava (14:30.606)
And again, we have two triangles, two large triangles.

Jonathan (14:30.963)
Mm-hmm.

Jonathan (14:34.6)
Illuminati.

Slava (14:35.408)
Yep, there it is.

Spenser (14:36.285)
You

Jonathan (14:37.406)
They're the investors that put on this film.

Spenser (14:39.38)
all makes, it all makes sense now.

Slava (14:41.094)
As they do with all films.

Jonathan (15:01.234)
like that line.

Spenser (15:03.037)
That was good.

Jonathan (15:08.796)
Is the green supposed to be the astrophage? Because I thought it was red earlier in the

Jonathan (15:24.988)
Okay, so I will take back. I don't think that the entire film is ruined because we see Rocky because the second part of it is really like their relationship, which is fun, but the reveal is ruined for sure.

Spenser (15:38.365)
Yeah.

Slava (15:39.075)
Yeah I agree with what Spencer said, too much of them being friendly together and having fun if they just introduced Rocky and cut there... But I'm still gonna watch it.

Spenser (15:52.948)
Oh, 100%. It does look awesome. And if it's anything like the Martian, it'll be fantastic.

Jonathan (15:54.6)
Yeah, I'm not gonna watch it.

Jonathan (16:01.364)
true that. Well good stuff. We wanted to keep this one short. Any final thoughts for the side questers, gentlemen?

Slava (16:01.858)
Agreed.

Slava (16:13.785)
We jazz hands amaze amaze amaze know If you know you know a real comment for the side questers is we're gonna re-upload The episodes that Spencer you know led on this book so watch Watch for that coming in the next few weeks So much for that break us Jonathan

Spenser (16:13.896)
Jazz hands.

Jonathan (16:15.476)
Amazing. Yeah, if you know, know.

Jonathan (16:34.28)
podcast takeover.

Jonathan (16:41.47)
guess we're back at it. I'll have to tell my work. Sorry, I'm busy talking Captain Rocky with the boys.

Slava (16:50.958)
I wouldn't have it any other way.

Jonathan (16:52.914)
That's right. all right side questers. Stay classy.