By Quinn Marcus

(2019)

AGE: 13+

70% SWEET/SOUR

So What's the Story?

Set in the near future… Ad Astra is about astronaut Roy McBride, son of the legendary astronaut Clifford McBride. Clifford had undergone an expedition in space called ‘The Lima Project’ to find extra terrestrial life beyond our solar system, the mission would last for years. The members of ‘The Lima Project’ never came back. Years later a new global disaster begins known as “The Surge.” Roy, now a man has also become an astronaut and is assigned to join a crew of men and women to find ‘The Lima Project’s’ ship and destroy it. Emotional, intense, dark. If these are the things you are looking for in a space film, this is the one for you.

Is It Worth Your While?

Ad Astra aspires to be the space epic of 2019, but production values and a game Brad Pitt are the only things keeping this movie going, now here are my reasons. First of all, directing by James Gray, director of 'The Lost City Of Z' (no score yet), really liked to see Brad Pitt walking down dark hallways in slow motion. I mean I get it, we all would love to see an epic actor looking dramatic, but who cares. To add on to that Brad Pitt's left side of the face was also a very popular subject that the director wanted to cover. I guess Brad Pitt just has a good side. Also, that narration filled me with so much boredom, I fell asleep for a few minutes. Now don't get me wrong, Brad Pitt's voice was actually kind of relaxing, but him talking about his father again and again was unnecessary. However, some scenes were directed very well, the opening satellite tower scene was amazing, the moon battle was great, and then there was the crazy monkey scene which made no sense at all. Next, we have the special effects. Outer space looked amazing, the planets, the ships, the stars all looked incredibly realistic. Also, the no sound in space thing made it very logical. Because in space, there is no sound, so it was replaced by a fantastic soundtrack. Third, we have the script and story. Boring but occasionally interesting, the script and story captured my attention sometimes and made me fall asleep others. There were also too many plot points, he's dealing with his wife, his dad, the mission, staying focused and having his psychology evaluation approved. It was all too much. Overall, Ad Astra benefits from an occasionally interesting story and impressive production value but suffers from a slow story and repetition.

How Was the Cast?

The cast in Ad Astra did a solid job. First, we have Brad Pitt as Roy McBride. Amazing as always, Brad Pitt truly shined in this movie regardless of the narration. He was dramatic, robot-like to support his overall character and seemed to work with the cast perfectly. Next, we have Tommy Lee Jones as Clifford McBride. Although having a weird character to play, Tommy Lee Jones finds a way to make that character work performing with pure passion and raw emotion. Third, we have Donald Sutherland as Thomas Pruitt. He was wasted, not given enough screen time which his character deserved. It was almost like, they tried to find a way to get him out of the movie just so they could focus on Brad Pitt.

Aging 'The Surge'

Ad Astra has some bloody scenes, Astronauts are killed. Roy and Clifford have an intense relationship, there is some mild violence. Roy goes a little crazy whilst being on a long voyage. However, Roy eventually learns to become a better person after learning a few lessons during his travels, overall I recommend this film to teens and up.