Tags: blog, film, recommended, sci-fi, 2026
Author: KickingK
Date: Wednesday May 20th, 2026
Lessons learned from Rocky...
A space ship sets sail from a dying earth, with a small crew, in search of ways to save humanity from the gradual plague that is enveloping it.
If that sounds like the plot of Interstellar then it’s not a surprise. Film makers Miller and Lord take liberal inspiration from the Nolan movie, but what makes this movie interesting is how it interprets the genre differently and ends up with something that feels fresh and modern.
The most obvious difference is clear from the trailer: An alien. Nolan's movie is about actual physics, so: no aliens. PHM's relationship to physics is a little woollier. It's aware of the concept but doesn't consider it to be bound by them, so: aliens.
Which is where the movie gradually morphs into a buddy movie. The film invests a huge part of it's runtime depicting the blossoming friendship between Ryan Gosling's Grace and his newfound alien partner, Rocky. It's highly unusual to see a film to not only show, but to focus so heavily on the subject of friendship.
Yes both Grace and Rocky are lonely, yes they have the same goal, yes they need each other to complete their mission, yes they both help each other and return the favours, but that's not why they become friends. It's not why they're so believable.
It's because they like each other.
Most of the film's appeal is simply Grace and Rocky goofing around, completely enamoured with each other, and loving the company. Lord and Miller lean into the concept of positive masculinity with their whole heart, to the point where it becomes the buddiest of buddy movies ever made.
To give the film a more interesting narrative structure, there's a series of flash backs that lead up to Grace being catapulted out of Earth's orbit. Both the literal and the metaphorical down-to-earthness of it all contrasting beautifully with the apocalyptic level of what's at stake, as well as the outrageous visuals of the space scenes.
This is one of the rare instances of a film where the main motivation of the CGI artists was to produce something beautiful. Every scene is lit in a way that is visually arresting, seemingly aware that the long runtime needs the eye to be delighted at every moment. As a result, even when not much is happening, the whole film zips along.
This has the feeling of a film that delights on first viewing and is destined to become a fondly loved classic in years to come.
Amaze, Amaze, Amaze!
