Project Hail Mary was an enjoyable watch. The premise is interesting: aliens do exist and they are an immediate threat to human life, not in an intentional way but due to their life cycle. This feels refreshing as it is still a great narrative conflict without the direct violence often introduced with extraterrestrial life.
The strongest part of the movie is Rocky. Their ingenuity, quirky behavior and child-like curiosity make them adorable. I particularly enjoy how the movie portrayed them as something different from Earth biology with a clear barrier to communication. That being said, while there is a significant section about creating a shared language, the movie fully hand waves it later on. While this is understandable to make interactions with them smoother, it is a bit uncanny, making Rocky feel like a human puppet rather than an alien.
Ryland Grace was not as compelling as a character to me. The movie tells us that he is a coward but I find this hard to parse as the cowardice itself is not really shown. All we see in the movie is a man who is not willing to leave his life behind to go on a suicide mission but, when he is there, he does whatever it takes for the mission to succeed. In the end, his motivations feel underdeveloped, making the emotional payoff of him becoming a teacher on Erid a bit too corny for my taste.
Despite this, Grace and Rocky were great to watch together on screen and it is one of the reasons the story is enjoyable. Combined with a solid premise and good execution, this movie was a strong watch.