Mild spoilers to follow.

You’ve seen “man trapped in space, based on a book by Andy Weir and adapted by Drew Goddard” before! You’ve seen “Ryan Gosling in space” before! You’ve seen “man travels across the galaxy to save a dying earth” cinema! You know exactly what you’re getting with Project Hail Mary, the newest film by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, and in most cases, the familiarity of it all should feel like a total step-backwards for the duo, who have made a name for churning questionable ideas into great, innovative movies (Lego movies, 21 Jump Street adaptations, and animated Spider-Man features alike). But while Project Hail Mary feels obvious in their wheelhouse with its subversive humor and frenetic situations, the directing team (along with cinematographer Grieg Fraser) decide to deliver, on top of their reliable humor, an IMAX extravaganza while keeping the story grounded in urgency.

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace (the names so similar, you wonder of Weir wrote the role with Gosling in his head), a middle-school biology teacher-turned-astronaut who begins the film waking up on board his ship with no memory and the sudden discovery that he was sent to save humanity from inevitable extinction. In flashbacks, we learn that Grace was a former molecular biologist and was recruited by Government Agent Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) to help solve the crisis of the sun’s energy suddenly being extracted by a new microorganism from outer space they’ve named the “Astrophage”, which was discovered from an infrared line being drawn between the sun and Venus. In a matter of 30 years, humanity will begin to go extinct do to dropping temperatures. As Grace, the sole survivor left on his ship, begins to regain his memory, he learns he is traveling towards a star named Tau Ceti, one that may be the source of saving Earth. As he journeys through the vacuum of space, he learns he is not the only living being whose planet has been affected by the Asrophage.

The novel, which gained incredible word-of-mouth upon release, and is likely to bring in a herd of fans to the cinema, seemed shrouded in secrecy with each new reader singing its praises, many staying hush-hush about its extraterrestrial hard pivot (and it’s secondary lead character). What begins as The Martian Redux, transforms into E.T. meets Interstellar. “Just go read it without knowing anything!” soon turned into “Don’t watch the trailer! It gives everything away!” By everything: the introduction of the creature, Rocky. Yes, to go into any film blind would be a dream, but to market this movie without the stone sidekick would be difficult as “he” and his friendship with Grace takes up the bulk of the movie. One that is filled with cutesy jokes and banter that some may find a bit overly irreverent, but so developed and nourished with heart and humanity that Gosling and this CG/puppet rock creature (mobile through the use of a uniquely-designed hamster ball) become cinematically inseparable. No, not romantic, but let’s be real, by the film’s end, the two have more chemistry than Gosling and Hüller, and even those two work shocking well together.

Hüller is reliably authoritative and assertive, balancing incredibly well off of Gosling’s charming, nerdy, and neurotic persona, and believably persuasive in her pursuit of recruiting Grace. But what her character is hiding under her stoic exterior is incredibly layered, having to force herself to make painfully tough decisions simply because there is no other option for humanity. One incredibly heartfelt karaoke performance reveals everything you need to know about Stratt in just a few minutes and is beautifully sung by Hüller. Also assisting Gosling is the monotone but effortlessly human voice of James Ortiz as Rocky and the charming but underused Lionel Boyce as one of Hüller’s team’s security guards Officer Carl.

Gosling is the reason you buy the ticket though. Much like Damon in The Martian, though even more focused on its stranded scientist than that prior Weir adaptation, Gosling must keep the audience invested solely in him for the entire two-and-a-half hour runtime and of course he aces the assignment. Naturally built with charisma in his blood, Gosling is one of those actors that never feels like there’s a camera on him, one that makes comedy acting and dramatic acting look easy. He’s the perfect conduit for both Weir’s sense of humor and the way his character’s passion for math and science drives every one of their instincts. It’s a movie star performance and one that adds a substantial amount of likability and emotional weight that is necessary to keep us hooked to the screen. Plus, it’s just a pure joy to watch him strike up an adorable friendship that, by the end, feels 100% authentic. As much as the visual effects do a wonderful job at bringing Rocky to life, Gosling’s acting alongside Rocky breathes life into him as well, being undeniably genuine and sincere.

Its sincerity and visual scope help evoke the essence of a grand 1990s blockbuster, very much in the Apollo 13 wheelhouse. It’s got that type of heart-swelling optimism and humanity that just resonates with wide audiences. The kind that makes you want to buy a second ticket or catch a rewatch on television just to feel good for a few hours. This isn’t the usual Lord & Miller fast-paced comedy. It has some solid laughs, but it’s heartfelt earnestness is thicker than anything they’ve made before. Its drama does allow necessary pause, with its characters truly grappling with the weight of keeping the Earth and humanity alive as long as they can. Fraser’s stunning IMAX photography frames Gosling brilliantly, able to even in extreme closeup, capture so much background space around him to emphasize his solitude. A noted lack of green-screen in favor of volume-built space sets is a seamless visual spectacle.

Project Hail Mary is not a perfectly structured film. It lacks the tightness of The Martian, with its flashback structure swinging wildly back and forth, not always landing in the right spots. It’s clear that Grace’s memory loss makes learning “how he got to space” as much of a mystery to its audience as it is to its lead, but the film really sings when Grace and Rocky are together and the constant pulling away from its present storytelling can feel like whiplash (complete with changing aspect ratios). It’s not so much a problem in the first two hours as it is in the last half hour, where its narrative starts taking turns that could have been honed in a little earlier and quicker. One of those “just when you think we’re wrapping up, we have another problem!” finales, but novel fans and re-watchers will have no issue, knowing what to expect and just enjoying the ride. Regardless, as with most Lord & Miller films, you’ll leave the theatre with a big, stupid grin on your face and maybe even a few dried tears.