Ad astra is Latin for “to the stars” plus it’s the title of director James Gray’s science-fiction thriller starring Brad Pitt.
Set in the not too distant future Ad Astra is being billed as a paranoid thriller played out in space.
Pitt’s character, astronaut Roy McBride, is sent on a space mission to uncover the truth about his father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who went missing three decades earlier.
Jones’ character is the mad scientist type, who now threatens the existence of the universe.
Gray cowrote the script with Ethan Gross who also coproduced the film with Pitt among others.
With a September release, the 124-minute space epic earned mostly favorable reviews which you can see a sample of below.
JUDGEMENT
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“What sets it apart from recent gravity-defying films, however, is the setting. This is a future that feels recognisably familiar and deeply plausible, a world in which space travel has become commercialised, normalised, and blighted by the same overpriced pillows as the budget airline. The wonder of space has been replaced by the mundanities and conflicts of Earth; the moon is a gaudy tourist trap and disputed territory, not unlike an episode of Futurama.” John Nugent, Empire Online
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“Gray (who also wrote the script alongside Ethan Gross) is an established purveyor of big, brooding, ambitious cinema, from The Yards through The Immigrant to 2017’s Amazonian adventure, The Lost City of Z. But he’s never made anything as ambitious as this soaring psychological space-opera, with its cool surfaces, dark pockets and sudden flashes of violence. Ad Astra is so deadly serious that it verges on the silly; so immaculately staged and sustained that it sweeps us up in its orbit.” Xan Brooks, The Guardian
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“If you overlook some of the soppy psycho-babble, though, Ad Astra is a rewarding combination of pulpy B-movie and ominous, atmospheric drama. It begins as Roy is knocked off a mile-high antenna by a power surge. According to Nasa’s top brass, this was one of the many power surges caused by cosmic rays zapping us from the other end of the solar system. And the origin of these cosmic rays is a space station that was once manned by Roy’s father (Tommy Lee Jones).” Nicholas Barber, BBC
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“This sci-fi spin on Heart of Darkness is a self-conscious movie about a self-conscious man, a dutiful son who’s increasingly aware of how out of place he feels — in the organization he works for and in his own skin. Like those figures on the Tarot card, Roy is jolted awake by a terrible fall, and it’s only the first of several plunges he’ll take into some sort of abyss. His long climb back is the stuff of neatly myth-tinged storytelling mechanics. In a few quietly searing sequences, though, something else happens, charged and openhearted and lightning-bolt ragged: A wounded soul’s gaze illuminates the way.” Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter
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“Another introspective but immaculately crafted adventure epic … Ad Astra is an awe-inspiring film about the fear of male vulnerability and the fait accompli of becoming your own father — whomever he might be (the more baggage you can bring to the table the better, as these characters are mere vessels for the movie’s interplanetary voyage into the heart of darkness). Despite a blockbuster-sized budget and whatever box office aspirations Disney might still have for this leftover piece of Fox’s pre-acquisition production slate, Gray’s largest film is light years removed from the crowd-pleasing likes of Gravity and The Martian.” David Ehrlich, Indie Wire
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“References to God are beautifully littered throughout James Gray and Ethan Gross’ screenplay — from prayers sent to St. Christopher to the belief by Clifford that he is ‘doing God’s work’ — but at the same time, the script is all so blindingly obvious you can’t help but roll your eyes; there is no intelligent life, man will play God no matter the year and ‘we are all we have.’ Ad Astra is helped along by Hoyte Van Hoytema’s stunning cinematography and Max Richter’s score (Van Hoytema regularly works with Christopher Nolan which doesn’t help comparisons to work such as Interstellar) but although it’s all very pretty to look at and listen to, it doesn’t bring any joy or warmth to the experience.” Rebecca Lewis, Metro
Watch a clip from Ad Astra below: