Hello everyone to another belated review of the latest Brad Pitt led film. If you read my most anticipated movies of Fall/Winter list you might recall this one being in my top 5, and for good reasons. The biggest one being that I am a huge fan of anything Sci fi and I would consider it my favorite genre mainly because of the endless possibilities that could be done with it, and the many themes, and ideas that could be explored. That and I really like Brad Pitt as an actor, and the trailers looked great so for me it was kind of hard not to be excited for this one. So did it end up living up to the hype? Absolutely, in fact maybe even more than I was expecting! So let’s look into the reasons why I think this film is as great as I think it is down below!
Taking place some time in the near future, the main focus of this story is Major Roy McBride, who is the son of famed astronaut Clifford McBride who left Roy when he was very young for the outer reaches of space to find signs of intelligent life out there in an expedition known as “the Lima Project” from which nothing has been heard from Clifford or the crew for 16 years. One day the Solar system gets struck by a wave of mysterious power surges, one of which narrowly kills Roy while on a space walk. The U.S. Space command informs Roy that they suspect “the Lima Project” may have something to do with this, and that his father may very well still be alive. So Roy accepts the classified mission to travel to Mars in order to establish communication with Clifford, and he must not tell anyone about his mission no matter what. But will the emotionally detached Roy be able to find out the truth of his father’s mysterious disappearance, and stop these surges? But more personally is he ready to see him again after all this time?
When a new (hard) science fiction movie like this comes around I’m always curious as to what they will do in order to make a unique vision of what the future could be like (something that’s been proven time, and time again to be very effective), and even with countless films portraying what be in store in the coming decades, James Grey, and Ethan Gross are still able to come up with some very interesting world building. While we only get some glimpses what we are shown does a great job showing how advanced the human race has begun, and we’ve managed to accomplish space travel through the solar system (there’s even an airline to the Moon, where people can now live). The script never bothers to shove everything down the audience’s throats, and that’s doubly impressive given how there’s a lot of voice over used though it is used to develop Roy, and reveal more about why he acts the way he does, and his reactions to certain events that happen which makes the story all the more personal, and character driven. Speaking of which this movie works excellently as a compelling character driven drama exploring Roy’s demons, and his anxiety about his current mission, and what it means for him emotionally (some have stated this as Apocalypse Now in space, and which is pretty accurate, though still different). I also really love this film is able to juggle so many themes, and pull them off so seamlessly. It is yet another film this year to deal with toxic masculinity which is a huge part of Roy’s character arc as his cold exterior, and suppression of emotions made his wife left him and makes him all the more isolated, but also has the balls (slight spoilers) to ask the question of what if we are really alone in the this big sprawling galaxy with no other intelligent life out there. You don’t really see many movies explore this notion as most like to go with the notion that we are just one speck of dust in this vast universe, so it was kind of interesting to see a film that goes against that notion and even argues how dangerous obsessing over finding the truth can be mentally, holding you back from your life, and even separate you away from your loved ones. My only real issue would be that the ending is a little more open ended inferring that maybe there could be life out there or not, but even then that just goes to show how uncertain the future of our planet is, which is just how it is in real life. In the end though it sort of makes us appreciate where we live right now, and how we should really care for it. It’s truly remarkable what this film is able to pull off in terms of story, themes, and world building, and heck that’s not even all of what it gets right.
In terms of visuals, and craftsmanship this is easily one of the best looking films this year with masterful cinematography showcasing the vastness of space. There are so many perfect shots in this movie that can be considered a work of art (that’s how good this movie looks), and thanks to the perfect pacing (only 121 minutes) that’s slow burn without being abundantly so, the film gives time to fully take in a moment or scene. It was absolutely worth seeing on the big screen (Heck I wish I saw it on an even bigger screen) and made the film a terrific visual experience (as well as an emotional experience). And for anyone expecting this to be an action packed swash buckling space adventure, well it’s not quite that though the few moments of action there are work, and are directed very well by Grey. Most of the set-pieces can be really intense, and feel almost claustrophobic in nature with the opening surge strike on the space station, a stand – out moon buggy pirate attack on the Moon, some zero gravity combat in a ship, and when Brad Pitt is floating around in space coming to mind. I also really dug the score by Max Richter which uses a variety of instrumentals to create music that can be wondrous, intense, or somber to help set the mood of any given scene, and it makes for one of my favorite soundtracks this year. Not only is the story telling impressive but on a technical level, this film is an absolute masterpiece.
Even with a cast full of plenty of familiar faces, this is the Brad Pitt show through and through as he once again proves his talent as an actor. He is incredible in the role, delivering a more understated turn which makes sense given the character he is portraying. He is able to tap into Roy’s personal turmoil, as well as his internal conflict effectively, and he continues to show off his range as an actor. He succeeds in making this emotionally detached, and introverted man into a character whom we can sympathize with, and often relate. At it’s core it’s a story about someone trying to be a better person, and it leads to a very satisfying finale. There’s also a very compelling relationship between him, and his father as it’s able to capture the many aspects of a relationship between a parent, and their child and it serves as the beating heart of the feature. It helps that Tommy Lee Jones gives in another great, heartbreaking performance as Clifford which is similar to Pitt’s which makes sense. While he mostly appears in video recordings, he still leaves an impact which can applies for the rest of the cast. All of the supporting cast whether it be Liv Tyler as Roy’s wife, Eve (who gets only a few lines of dialogue), Ruth Negga as another astronaut, Helen Lantos, whose parents were involved in the “Lima Project”, or Donald Sutherland as Colonel Pruitt, an old associate of his father, who accompanies Roy to the Moon, (understandably) get limited screen-time. Yet even with that, the actors still manage to leave an impression and each the character themselves are fleshed out very well which is impressive when you consider their lack of extensive screen time. But again the film’s main focus is Brad Pitt as Roy McBride, and he makes sure he gives it his all.
All in all Ad Astra is a phenomenal piece of film making that really hit me in many ways. It manages to tackle all of these powerful themes seamlessly, has interesting world building, spectacular visuals that are some of the best of the year, an Oscar worthy lead performance from Pitt, and more. It’s a near masterpiece, and one of my favorite movies of the year, will probably be pretty high up in my 2019 movies ranking, and I absolutely recommend it to fans of science fiction, or more slow burn movies. It won’t be for everyone since it isn’t the most mainstream picture, and it might not work for some audiences which is totally okay. But for me I really wish it did better financially, and it should be in awards consideration in some capacity (at least the technical elements). So if you can its definitely worth a watch to just to see what you think personally of Brad Pitt’s Heart of Darkness.
Rating: A
Leave your thoughts down below in the comments, and see you guys later!
Review Time 