Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. Now his son -- a fearless astronaut -- must embark on a daring mission to
Director: James Gray
Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland,
Release Date:
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Rated PG-13 for some violence and bloody images, and for brief strong language
Runtime: 2 h 3 min
Review:
Ad Astra answers a question nobody ever asked, what if Apocalypse Now and Solaris had a baby. The answer is laid bare in beautifully filmed, poetic film that thinks subject matter is meatier than it actually is. James Gray delivers an impressively filmed movie that’s filled with striking visuals that echo 2001 and Solaris on multiple levels. It’s hard to not appreciate the level of craftsmanship even if the film moves at a snails pace with random bit of surprising violence. To say that Brad Pitt carries the film would be an understatement. Pitt delivers one of the best performances of his career with measured, thoughtful delivery. While the film’s story has a big celestial basis, it’s a very much a personal story. Unfortunately, the main crux of the film deals with daddy issues which seems like a theme that’s been beat into the ground. It’s hardly a fatal flaw but do sort of wish that the story had something new or more meaningful behind it. It still doesn’t take away from those few passing moment of Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones performing together in some incredibly moving and heartbreaking sequences. Ad Astra is the type of film that will be remembered fondly by cinefiles but rarely revisited.
A-
