Ad Astra Review

Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Cast Headliners: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler, Ruth Negga
Original Release Date: September 20th, 2019

Science fiction is a dime a dozen yet it also can be masterpiece a dime a dozen due to the literal infinity of our real space. Ad Astra on its surface may appear to be a generic 2001 or Interstellar copycat but it isn't. It certainly wears its influences on its sleeve but also has some fresh ideas presently kind of wonderfully. Brad Pitt in galactic Apocalypse Now is the slightly more apt comparison even if it never reaches the peaks of either of those claims.
In some unknown time into Earth's future humanity has established a moon-and-planet spanning network of space stations and antenna's. Major Roy McBride(Brad Pitt) is a pilot / officer veteran of the Space Command who almost loses his life in a space antenna energy “Surge”-related incident. Dark secrets come to light when its revealed to him by his superiors that not only is his long lost father Clifford McBride(Tommy Lee Jones) alive on the distant alien-seeking Lima Project but may be sending out Surge rays from an anti-matter weapon on Neptune. Roy is tasked with finding his father and if need be even taking him down.

The concepts of the film are an absolute highlight whether its from a world-building or philosophical perspective. As mentioned there's cosmic rays being used as potential weapons across the solar system so that's a pretty epic scope in itself. There's also moon commercial flights, moon pirates, Mars bases, floating monkey research stations, and more shown or referenced. It can be a very, very slow burn but the occasional twists and surprises excite while they provoke thought.

In the vacuum of space some human performances slightly shine through. Pitt's Roy isn't a highlight of his career but he's decently determined in his mix of level-headed charisma and personal haunting. Much of his dialogue is actually delivered as narration / inner monologue which is an uncommon technique but carries mostly depth in its script however this does bring some of the pacing down or confrontations down. He's joined for a certain majority of the voyage by rotating crew members including the ever-reliable (but often same) Donald Sutherland as Colonel Pruitt, base commander Helen(Ruth Negga, or the crew of the Cephaeus shuttle who don't quite differentiate from each other but are skilled and or friendly enough. He also remembers flashbacks or views recordings of his wife Eve(Liv Tyler) who doesn't say much in the film either.

The person with the most and important recordings is of course Lee Jones' mysterious Clifford. The Coppolla comparisons come from both the narrative yet also in his late-game introduction and insanity. He's broken, wise, and even heartfelt. It can trend towards generically boilerplate but the skill of him and Pitt make for a worthy complementary duo for what they mean towards each other.

The entity who performs the most of all is perhaps the director James Gray playing with the cosmos. This at times is an incredibly beautiful film. Interiors of spaceships and installations, Earth's atmosphere, the Moon, Mars, Neptune's atmosphere and more as mentioned feel so real yet so properly otherworldly. Wide pans, retro colors, and special effects give everything a breathtaking sheen. Some effects are less commendable than others holding it back from true excellence but what works works well. Some inventive action happens especially unique to space like the moon pirates projectile weapons in the silence of the cratered surface leading to such a special chase sequence or other quarrels in believable zero-g. A score by Max Richter is often typical strings but some dips into relaxing electronica add to the spacy wonder.

Some of its concepts never really go as deep as they should with the plot having an exciting journey with a possibly questionable end for its partly sluggish runtime. However for lovers of hard sci-fi it may likely scratch the itch one would want from something like this. There's some notable components and sequences which make it a fun heady ride even if its been done before. 8.05 out of 10