Ad Astra
3.5/4
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler
Rated PG-13 for Some Violence and Bloody Images, and for Brief Strong Language
His eyes are tired. His face is weathered from years of suppressing his emotions in favor of the job. Roy McBride is weary from life and the struggle to avoid anything that can bring him down. But the impossible quest of not feeling anything has hurt him in ways he cannot admit.
This is a movie where it is better to go in knowing as little as possible, so I will be intentionally vague. In the near future, space travel is more advanced than it is today. Trips to the moon are no big deal (it has all the amenities of Earth, including Subway and Applebee's. Mars has a permanent base. Further out is dicier. Roy (Pitt) is an astronaut famous for his professionalism and his ability to remain calm under immense pressure. However, the solar system is experiencing frequent electrical surges of increasing intensity and threaten all life. Roy is called in to stop it, but his superiors drop a bombshell: the first manned mission to Neptune, led by his father Clifford McBride (Jones) thirty years ago, was not destroyed. The antimatter engine used to propel The Lima Project was damaged, and that is what is causing the ship. More importantly, Clifford, long thought dead, may still be alive and causing the surges. Roy is sent on a top secret mission to send a personal message to stop him.
"Ad Astra" is an intensely cerebral movie. Anyone expecting to grip their armrests or get an adrenaline rush is going to be disappointed. There are a few isolated fights (including a dune buggy chase on the lunar surface), but they're brief and not especially important. Director James Gray isn't making that kind of movie. Rather, this is a movie that asks questions about the nature of humanity, the need for purpose, and the quest for human connection. This isn't "Star Wars" or an MCU movie (take your pick...they're all the same). While many are finding similarities between this and "Interstellar," a better point of comparison is Danny Boyle's "Sunshine."
Brad Pitt's personal life may be a mess, but he's had a great year in front of the camera, having appeared in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" and this. Movies like this are a good reminder that, as big of a movie star as he is, Pitt is one hell of an actor. His performance is, by design, not flashy, but that doesn't mean that it isn't effective. Roy is a man of steel reserve, but his actions, intentional or not, affect him deeply. His protective facade begins to break, and it's fascinating to watch. He hasn't been this good since "Kalifornia." Other actors such as Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland and Liv Tyler (who only has a few lines total), make appearances, but no one else is around for long. This is a one man show, and Pitt is more than capable of holding it together. While September is a little early for Oscar predictions, it will be a shame if he doesn't make the top five.
As fascinating as the existential aspects of the film are, it is less successful on an emotional level. A huge part of the film is Roy's need to reconnect with his father, but Clifford is so undeveloped that it doesn't pay off. Yet that's not as much of a problem as you might think. The film's biggest strengths are the questions about the nature of humanity and our purpose. They really aren't different from the ones we've been asking since we as a species have gained the capacity for critical thought, but they are presented here in a compelling way.
When the film reaches its climax, Gray stumbles. The film's purpose becomes fuzzy and whatever he is trying to say becomes muddled. There's also a fight scene a few minutes earlier that is, at best, poorly motivated and contrived. It's a bit frustrating to see a film so fascinating lose focus. The biggest problem, if it can be called that, is that the film is a bit too understated. The characters are kept at an arm's distance from the audience. While that is certainly keeping in line with the lead character and allows the audience to ponder its big questions, it makes it difficult to become involved in the story. "Ad Astra" is a movie that demands and rewards patience.
But at the end of the film, I wasn't thinking about plot contrivances, a lack of emotional engagement or whatever. What I took from the film is exactly what I think James Gray intended: a science fiction story that encourages thoughts about the purpose of humanity, being awed at some truly breathtaking images of our solar system (Hoyte von Hoytema surely deserves an Oscar for his camerawork) and a tremendous central performance. Those three things alone make it worth the price of admission.
The question remains whether or not it will find its audience. This is not standard multiplex fare, and contains depth and intelligence that the MCU doesn't even bother to aim for. My guess is that it will. Pitt can always be counted on to open a film and it's the beginnings of Oscar season so people are looking for more than explosions or Pavlovian responses to fan service and comics canon. Whatever you do, see it on the big screen. Like the other big space movies of recent years, "Gravity" and the aforementioned "Interstellar," it will lose a lot of its energy on a smaller screen. It's that kind of movie.
Movies like this should be encouraged. Not only is it one of the year's best, it's a reminder that film is more than just a cash cow or an addictive endorphin rush at the fan service and callbacks. It provokes thought and feeling in ways no other medium can. If you're a movie fan or not, you should take two hours out of your life and see this movie. I promise you won't regret it.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler
Rated PG-13 for Some Violence and Bloody Images, and for Brief Strong Language
His eyes are tired. His face is weathered from years of suppressing his emotions in favor of the job. Roy McBride is weary from life and the struggle to avoid anything that can bring him down. But the impossible quest of not feeling anything has hurt him in ways he cannot admit.
This is a movie where it is better to go in knowing as little as possible, so I will be intentionally vague. In the near future, space travel is more advanced than it is today. Trips to the moon are no big deal (it has all the amenities of Earth, including Subway and Applebee's. Mars has a permanent base. Further out is dicier. Roy (Pitt) is an astronaut famous for his professionalism and his ability to remain calm under immense pressure. However, the solar system is experiencing frequent electrical surges of increasing intensity and threaten all life. Roy is called in to stop it, but his superiors drop a bombshell: the first manned mission to Neptune, led by his father Clifford McBride (Jones) thirty years ago, was not destroyed. The antimatter engine used to propel The Lima Project was damaged, and that is what is causing the ship. More importantly, Clifford, long thought dead, may still be alive and causing the surges. Roy is sent on a top secret mission to send a personal message to stop him.
"Ad Astra" is an intensely cerebral movie. Anyone expecting to grip their armrests or get an adrenaline rush is going to be disappointed. There are a few isolated fights (including a dune buggy chase on the lunar surface), but they're brief and not especially important. Director James Gray isn't making that kind of movie. Rather, this is a movie that asks questions about the nature of humanity, the need for purpose, and the quest for human connection. This isn't "Star Wars" or an MCU movie (take your pick...they're all the same). While many are finding similarities between this and "Interstellar," a better point of comparison is Danny Boyle's "Sunshine."
Brad Pitt's personal life may be a mess, but he's had a great year in front of the camera, having appeared in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" and this. Movies like this are a good reminder that, as big of a movie star as he is, Pitt is one hell of an actor. His performance is, by design, not flashy, but that doesn't mean that it isn't effective. Roy is a man of steel reserve, but his actions, intentional or not, affect him deeply. His protective facade begins to break, and it's fascinating to watch. He hasn't been this good since "Kalifornia." Other actors such as Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland and Liv Tyler (who only has a few lines total), make appearances, but no one else is around for long. This is a one man show, and Pitt is more than capable of holding it together. While September is a little early for Oscar predictions, it will be a shame if he doesn't make the top five.
As fascinating as the existential aspects of the film are, it is less successful on an emotional level. A huge part of the film is Roy's need to reconnect with his father, but Clifford is so undeveloped that it doesn't pay off. Yet that's not as much of a problem as you might think. The film's biggest strengths are the questions about the nature of humanity and our purpose. They really aren't different from the ones we've been asking since we as a species have gained the capacity for critical thought, but they are presented here in a compelling way.
When the film reaches its climax, Gray stumbles. The film's purpose becomes fuzzy and whatever he is trying to say becomes muddled. There's also a fight scene a few minutes earlier that is, at best, poorly motivated and contrived. It's a bit frustrating to see a film so fascinating lose focus. The biggest problem, if it can be called that, is that the film is a bit too understated. The characters are kept at an arm's distance from the audience. While that is certainly keeping in line with the lead character and allows the audience to ponder its big questions, it makes it difficult to become involved in the story. "Ad Astra" is a movie that demands and rewards patience.
But at the end of the film, I wasn't thinking about plot contrivances, a lack of emotional engagement or whatever. What I took from the film is exactly what I think James Gray intended: a science fiction story that encourages thoughts about the purpose of humanity, being awed at some truly breathtaking images of our solar system (Hoyte von Hoytema surely deserves an Oscar for his camerawork) and a tremendous central performance. Those three things alone make it worth the price of admission.
The question remains whether or not it will find its audience. This is not standard multiplex fare, and contains depth and intelligence that the MCU doesn't even bother to aim for. My guess is that it will. Pitt can always be counted on to open a film and it's the beginnings of Oscar season so people are looking for more than explosions or Pavlovian responses to fan service and comics canon. Whatever you do, see it on the big screen. Like the other big space movies of recent years, "Gravity" and the aforementioned "Interstellar," it will lose a lot of its energy on a smaller screen. It's that kind of movie.
Movies like this should be encouraged. Not only is it one of the year's best, it's a reminder that film is more than just a cash cow or an addictive endorphin rush at the fan service and callbacks. It provokes thought and feeling in ways no other medium can. If you're a movie fan or not, you should take two hours out of your life and see this movie. I promise you won't regret it.
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