Read Logan's review of Ad Astra.
Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.
Ad Astra is in theaters on September 20th, 2019.
Ad Astra is the story of a man on a journey to find his long-lost father in the vast
landscape of space. This movie became one of my most anticipated after seeing the first trailer,
and rave reviews from festivals raised my anticipation even further.
Brad Pitt plays Roy McBride, following his father’s footsteps in becoming an astronaut,
and has unbelievable control of his emotions while out in the field. Pitt’s performance is
phenomenal in Ad Astra. He’s fantastic in portraying what working for the government and
dealing with classified intelligence can do to a person. Keeping secrets while learning secrets
and also being afraid of what could happen once they no longer need him. I feel he should get
more recognition for this performance over Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
James Gray wrote and directed this film, and he actually had the release date pushed
back twice, in order to make this film as perfect as he could. There are many aspects of the
story that I enjoyed, like exploring what it means to be alone, why we as people sometimes
push others away, and what lengths we will go to fight something that has been torturing us
inside. I wish Ad Astra had connected these ideas better in its story. Many seem to be thrown at
the audience somewhat quickly. Some of this could be from the lack of emotion displayed by
Pitt’s character in some moments, which is used to show his ability of control over his heartbeat
and breathing. Other areas are illogical in some ways, leaving me to blame the direction and
writing. This movie has many highs and lows, but some of the incredibly tense highs just blow
over like they never happened, and many should have drastic consequences that are never
touched on again.
Overall, I was hoping for more from Ad Astra, although I did enjoy portions of it. I could
see what points the director was trying to connect to fully flesh out the story and bring it home,
but the end of the film falls flat for me. Also, the film is only two hours long, but it feels much
longer. Some moments drag on that could have been cut down, and that time could have been
spent developing other areas that needed more screen time.
It’s always tough to review a movie with so much mystery without giving away too much
detail, so I still recommend you check out Ad Astra on your own, Brad Pitt’s performance is
worth the price of your ticket alone. If you do see it, let us know your thoughts!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Logan (Senior Contributor) is a Texas native and a massive fan of all genres of film. You can find him talking about movies on YouTube or in line for the latest Star Wars/Comic Book film.Click Here to check out Logan's Articles.