Every once in a while a
friend will invite me to go see a movie I know absolutely nothing
about. Ad Astra is one of those movies; I went in almost
totally cold. The only things I knew was that it took place in space
and that it has Brad Pitt. So is that all there is to this
out-of-this-world odyssey or is there something more to discover?
Let's take a look.
In the
somewhat-near-future accomplished astronaut Roy McBride must go on a
secret mission to make contact with his previously presumed dead
father Clifford whose experiments in the outer Solar System may be
the cause behind dangerous power surges that threaten the Solar
System's stability. Along the way Roy must come to terms with his
father's absence and his emotional responses which are highly
regulated by Space Command. It's an intriguing premise reminiscent of
Heart of Darkness – or perhaps The Thin Red Line when
you consider all the introspective narration going on – but it
isn't paced all that well. There are a few action scenes jammed in
that seem like they were added to keep the film from being boring
because the plot does take its time in small steps.
The plot also has some
giant leaps in logic. For example, how does Roy not end up in jail
for the things he's done? Why do all the planets have the same level
of gravity? And speaking of Gravity, how do the astronauts
survive such punishment? But the silliest moment of all is when the
movie expects you to believe that duct tape can effectively seal a
shattered helmet against the vacuum of space, as if this is some kind
of goofy comedy.
Brad Pitt's performance
as Roy McBride is dead serious, however. His acting is very
understated as he's portraying a very repressed astronaut who tries
staying focused only on his job. Tommy Lee Jones portrays his
reclusive, solitary father Clifford McBride which is a fine choice.
When I think of crazy old man, Tommy Lee Jones is one of the first
actors to come to mind. While these are fine performances, it is
unfortunate that their characters aren't terribly interesting.
At least Ad Astra
is pretty to look at. It's a finely-shot film with eye-catching
visuals, compositions that would look right at home in an art
gallery, and excellent special effects that rival other space movies
like Interstellar. While much of the sets appear cold and
utilitarian they're given life by the dynamic lighting. Ad Astra's
use of lighting, whether it's the coloured glow of nearby planets or
the flickering fluorescent bulbs of neglected spacecraft, makes its
scenes more rich and enveloping the way few other movies do.
In short, Ad Astra
is an ambitious movie. Unfortunately the grand story it tries to tell
isn't all that original and will leave you wanting. In spite of some
decent performances and some beautiful visuals Ad Astra winds
up being merely OK. In one line in the movie Roy says, “below the
surface there was nothing.” Couldn't have said it better myself.
Grade:
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