quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Halfway through the book. It's a simple, easy read and pretty captivating. Going back and forth in time is pretty easy and well done.

Would like to see the movie when it's streaming for free but the book is pretty good so far. I hope the climax and ending keep up to expectations.

If you've enjoyed it this far, I think it'll live up to expectations.

Agreed. The only draggy bit in the books was the recall of the fairy tales (you'll know when you get there). Just press through, it all makes sense eventually.

It is NOTHING like the John Galt speech!!!

I read the book cover to cover in two days. I have not read many books that quickly. Excellent movie and even better book!

Done. I enjoyed the book. Nice ending.

Hope to see the movie when available but I think the book may do a better job at conveying the story’s sentiment and humanity. Especially the last chapters. But would like to see the action and engineering aspects in visual form.

Good story. Good characters. Good writing. Good ending.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
I've had a couple folks ask me; book or movie first?

I viewed the film before reading the book, I'm 2/3 through it now (great book so far). If I had to do it all over again, I would still watch the film first, then read the book; I can see the movie based on its own merits, and then get a more detailed and involved experience with the book afterwards.

IMO, if they tried to do the entire book, with no cuts, it'd be a mini-series.

But, also think the minutiae in the book would make for tedious viewing on a screen.

I would say read the book first. There are some key emotions and sentiment that are expressed through the book that may not be well conveyed in the acting. Also, having not seen the movie, not sure how much it deviates from the book - what was cut and what was perhaps added that’s not in the book.

It’s a quick read - 4-6 hours.

I think the story is good. But what makes it compelling are the sentiments behind the actions, not the actions themselves. I think the book conveys this nicely. Not sure yet about the movie. I definitely want to see the movie for some of the visual aspects. But definitely the book first in my mind.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I would say read the book first. There are some key emotions and sentiment that are expressed through the book that may not be well conveyed in the acting. Also, having not seen the movie, not sure how much it deviates from the book - what was cut and what was perhaps added that’s not in the book.

It’s a quick read - 4-6 hours.

I think the story is good. But what makes it compelling are the sentiments behind the actions, not the actions themselves. I think the book conveys this nicely. Not sure yet about the movie. I definitely want to see the movie for some of the visual aspects. But definitely the book first in my mind.

The movie is incredible! I cannot think of another recent example of a film like Project Hail Mary that stays so faithful and true to the text and spirit of the book. If you like the book you will LOVE the movie. Yes the book is better but only because it is able to provide more detail and doesn’t have the constraints of a motion picture as far as story telling.


Seriously. Find a way to see it in the theater if you can, you will not regret it. Project Hail Mary is one of the best movies I have seen in years.



I agree with Oddball, watch the movie first if you can then read the book.

If anyone is interested, I found a fairly interesting video on why Project Hail Mary and other recent digital movies are looking for "film" like.



The simple version is they're shooting the film on higher resolution digital cameras, recording the footage onto 35mm film, scanning that back into the computer, and using that data complete the film trying to maximize the best of both worlds.

This movie dropped on Amazon Prime today.

Watched it again on the flight from IAH to MUC
Just as enjoyable the second time

We watched the movie last night, as hberttmank posted, it’s available on Prime, and the price has been reduced to about $7 from the $20 that we first saw when we looked for the movie. We both enjoyed it, and I’m not into Sci-Fi at all.

Finally watched the movie. It was pretty good and I appreciate bringing the book to visual life.

That being said, I enjoyed the book considerably more. There were some elements I think that were added to the movie that detracted from the character. And there were some elements (thoughts, emotions, and such) that were in the book that either were missing from the movie and/or were not really conveyed well.

Good movie but I enjoyed the book considerably more. If I had to choose one, I'd definitely choose reading the book.

The ending was visually cute though.

I watched it on Prime last night and the night before. It was longer than I expected and broke into two sittings....which probably wasn't great. Regardless, I really enjoyed it, but admit some things went a little over my head. I plan to watch it a second time. I can certainly see why some said to see it in the theater. I'm sure it was far more dramatic on the big screen.

And I wasn't charged anything to watch it on Prime. That took me by surprise.

The book conveys some things not really reflected in the movie. From the book, for example, you get a better understanding of why solid xenon became permeable. And you have a deeper appreciation of the gratitude the eridians have toward grace and for where he’s living.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
The book conveys some things not really reflected in the movie. From the book, for example, you get a better understanding of why solid xenon became permeable. And you have a deeper appreciation of the gratitude the eridians have toward grace and for where he’s living.

Agreed, they cut a lot of the science & explanation, and obviously a ton of internal dialog.
Would've made a fun miniseries to get more of the book on screen.

It was an enjoyable movie and it was better than most of the garbage coming out of Hollywood. I never read the book and probably will not.

Even though it's PG13, it's a really clean movie. Other than some potentially 'scary' parts, I think my 5 yr old could watch without worry.

The Martian comes close, but a small bit of language & the full rear shot of Whatney near the end.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
The book conveys some things not really reflected in the movie. From the book, for example, you get a better understanding of why solid xenon became permeable. And you have a deeper appreciation of the gratitude the eridians have toward grace and for where he’s living.

You will find this in many film adaptations of famous books, The Godfather is a prime example, arguably one of the three best films in world history. The books delves farther and more detail in the Corleone empire, and how the other families operate, also fleshing out characters like Sonny, Tom Hagen, Clemenza, ect. Johnny Fontaine and Lucy Mancini were mere blips on the screen, but far more important in the book.

Like Project Hail Mary, I saw The Godfather before reading the book and it was the proper way for me, again judging and enjoying the film on its own merits with no comparisons to other content, then eventually getting more details and backstory with the book.

^^^ Following oddball's thoughts, it seems to make more sense to always see the movie first. Since books always contain more information, reading them first will inevitably cause the viewer of the movie to be disappointed. Whereas the other way around, the movie first can be enjoyed for what it is and then the book enjoyed possibly even more.

At 67 years old, I'd never thought of it this way before.