Ad Astra – to the stars and back?
Movie Rating 7 stars out of 10
Family Rating It is an adult drama but has limited coarse language and some violence. I would not recommend it for children as it is slow-moving and driven by adult themes.
After watching so many Marvel movies I was looking forward to Ad Astra as it was noted as a film with a slower pace and more thought-provoking than the smash and bash of recent months. The film is very much a vehicle for Brad Pitt who is Roy McBride, accomplished astronaut, who is seen to have a passion for space that is stronger than all other relationships. We learn that Roy’s love of the planets and beyond comes from his famous father Clifford, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who led Lima Project group to Neptune seeking life beyond our own galaxy. However, no one has heard from the expedition for many years.
When a mysterious power surge hits the earth with devastating effect, Roy is enlisted to assist as it is believed that the surge has been generated from the outskirts of the galaxy. Having proven himself as a talented astronaut and sharing a link with his father he is sent on a mission to find the source of the power surge and to nullify any future damage. To achieve this he has to travel to the moon, then Mars and on towards the last planet of the solar system (we all know that this is really Pluto!!). It is understood that space travel has many perils and Roy has a number of these to contend with, but this movie is not a high action sci-fi story of the Star Trek variety.
Brad Pitt is very much the centre of the film and spends much of it alone with his thoughts. The story is conveyed through Roy’s voiceovers as he ponders his relationship with the Universe and the lack of relationship that he had with his father, who he idolised but also never really knew. As the film progresses he struggles with his own beliefs as he grows to understand the real intent of his mission. The musical score is hauntingly beautiful and there is a calming effect as you watched Roy travel through space. At the same time, the tension builds towards a conclusion that you sense will not be a happy ending.
In playing Roy McBride, I saw glimpses in Brad Pitt of a middle-aged Robert Redford but I don’t believe Pitt has the charisma to hold the story together. Tommy Lee Jones, as Clifford McBride, struggles to portray, with any real depth, the role of a man who’s soul is broken so badly by what he discovers that he loses all hope in humanity. As a film about space travel, Ad Astra’s tone is reminiscent of 2001 A Space Odyssey, while the quest for the source of the menacing power and the need to destroy it can be compared with Martin Sheen’s journey in Apocalypse Now.
For me, the journey was better than the destination, with what I consider a very trite ending undoing a lot of good work that was established by good direction, wonderful music and stunning visuals. I believe that there are only a few actors that are good enough to carry such a film on their own and unfortunately Brad Pitt is not one of them.