Ad Astra review

AD ASTRA:

BRAD PITT SPACE ADVENTURE IS A VISUALLY STRIKING AND EMOTIONALLY POWERFUL ROLLER-COASTER! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

20^TH CENTURY FOX

Brad Pitt in Ad Astra

            An astronaut journeys through the far reaches of space in search of his missing father after a mission goes horribly wrong in Ad Astra, the new sci-fi adventure directed by James Gray (The Yards, The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z) and produced by and starring Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inglourious Basterds, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). It was only a matter of time before Brad Pitt would be sent into space and follow in the footsteps of George Clooney from Gravity, Matthew McConaughey from Interstellar, and Matt Damon from The Martian and much like those movies Ad Astra is both a visual and emotional powerhouse. 

            I was hyped the moment I saw the trailer and the movie did not disappoint. From the special effects and pulse-pounding sound design made even better if watching on IMAX, RPX, or Dolby at AMC to the story about the important bond between father and son and Brad Pitt’s stellar performance, this is an experience that must be seen on the big-screen to be believed. 

            The film follows astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) whose father Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones-Men in Black trilogy, Captain America: The First Avenger, Lincoln) left him 30 years ago for a mission into space in search for intelligent life and has gone missing ever since. When the solar system is suddenly struck by mysterious power surges of unknown origins threatening human life, Roy is informed that the surges have something to do with the Lima Project which his father had been working on reported to be orbiting around Neptune.

            With the fate of our planet at stake, Roy travels to the outer edges of the solar system to uncover the mystery behind the surges, destroy the Lima Project, and hopefully find his father in the process.

            The film also stars Ruth Negga (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Preacher, Loving) as Helen Lantos, Liv Tyler (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Strangers, The Incredible Hulk) as Eve McBride, Donald Sutherland (M*A*S*H, Cold Mountain, The Hunger Games franchise) as Colonel Pruitt, Jamie Kennedy (Romeo + Juliet, Scream franchise, Malibu’s Most Wanted) as Peter Bello, John Finn (Glory, The X-Files, Catch Me If You Can) as General Stroud, LisaGay Hamilton (True Crime, The Sum of All Fears, Vice) as Adjutant General Amelia Vogel, and John Ortiz (Carlito’s Way, Fast & Furious franchise, Kong: Skull Island) as General Rivas. 

            Overall, Ad Astra is a visually impressive and emotionally captivating adventure through space that balances between a special-effects driven spectacle and a character study on Roy that while a slow-burn is never boring more along the lines of Interstellar than Gravity, capped off by an engaging performance by Brad Pitt who keeps you invested all the way through.

            Despite having very little dialogue and most of his lines consisting of monologue Pitt sells just about every moment from his facial expressions, line delivery, and narration, you see and hear his determination in finding his father and uncovering the mystery of why he was missing and the origins of the surges which makes you want to get behind him on his journey.

            I was concerned the monologue would be distracting after a while but given all the exposition dropped in this movie and slow pace, it’s kind of necessary and without it I’d probably be lost in the first ten minutes. This really is a movie that requires your full attention, don’t turn your brain off or expect Ad Astra to be a visual extravaganza all throughout the film, it’s an impressive but also character focused slow-burn, plain and simple that may also require multiple viewings to understand everything unfolding in the story.

            When the special effects are on-screen, they are absolutely stunning and feel larger than life on the big screen, at times paying homage to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, red-lit hallways anyone? From its gripping opening with Brad Pitt being struck by a surge and falling off a space antenna to the Earth to shots of shuttles taking off and orbiting around planets, you really need to watch it on the largest screen possible to get the full effect.

            Luckily the effects don’t get in the way of the story, characters, and message about the important bond between parent and child which is where the film’s heart is. With all the space exploration and saving the planet from destruction when you get down to it, the movie is a basic son searching for his missing father plot and it’s done very well.

             If you’re a fan of space exploration movies like 2001, Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian, and First Man then you won’t want to miss Ad Astra. It’s a sci-fi adventure mixed with a poignant drama about family capped off by one of Brad Pitt’s best performances in recent years, what more do you need? Definitely watch it on an IMAX or large-format theater, you’ll thank me later.