Ad Astra - Zu den Sternen

Greetings again from the darkness. Astronaut Roy McBride's pulse rate may never go above 80 bpm, but mine certainly did during the opening sequence which features a stunning and spectacular space fall. It's unlike anything we've seen before. Roy has trained his entire life for this work; however his true mental state is only revealed slowly throughout the film's run. After witnessing his actions and hearing (through narration) his thoughts, we are left to decide what we think of Roy ... stoic hero or simmering psychopath? Either way, he's haunted by a past that has rendered him mission-focused and the world's worst party guest. The film takes place in the not-too-distant future.

Brad Pitt stars as Roy McBride, in what may be his career best (and most inward-looking) performance. Roy is the son of NASA hero Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), the leader of The Lima Project - a decades old mission to Neptune tasked with searching for extraterrestrial life. The elder McBride has long been assumed dead with no signals or response signs in many years. A recent power surge that threatens humanity has been traced to Neptune, and now Roy is being used as bait to track down his rogue astronaut father and prevent him from causing further damage.

Roy's assignment requires him to journey from Earth to the Moon to Mars and, ultimately, on to Neptune. Along the way, he travels with Colonel Pruitt (Donald Sutherland), an old friend of Clifford's, who is sent along to make sure the son doesn't acquiesce to the father. Of course, it's a nice touch to have Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland together again in a space movie 20 years after SPACE COWBOYS, a more upbeat adventure. Here we see a populated moon - yet another place we humans have messed up - replete with turf wars. There is also a shootout in a space capsule, and an unscheduled stop that provides shocking visuals and causes a shift in the crew.

James Gray, who directed the vastly underrated THE LOST CITY OF Z (2016) delivers a space film with terrific visuals and a script he co-wrote with Ethan Gross, that examines how a father can affect the life of his son even when he's not present. The film has an unusual pace to it. There are a few action sequences, but the core of the film is the psychological state of son versus absent father. Roy's inability to connect with loved ones is displayed through flashbacks involving Liv Tyler, and it's his own narration that provides us much more insight than his regularly scheduled psychological tests.

Ruth Negga (LOVING) has a nice turn as Helen Lantos, one of the key officials at the Mars space station, and her encounter with Roy provides him with yet more background on his father. It's easy to recall both APOCALYPSE NOW (only with Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Kurtz) and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY given the isolation, questionable mental state, and mission-gone-wrong. The cinematography Hoyte Van Hoytem (DUNKIRK) is outstanding, and never allows us to forget Roy is in space ... with danger present in every moment. The title translates "to the stars", and it's true in every sense.

Mr. Gray has delivered a thought-provoking big budget science fiction film. It has incredible special effects, but the personal story packs even more punch than the galactic adventure. Many will compare this to other space films like CONTACT, GRAVITY, and FIRST MAN, but this one requires more investment from the viewer, as it's the character study that resonates. This is Brad Pitt's movie (he's in most every scene), and the ties to his father are never more evident than when he (and we) see The Nicholas Brothers performing in black and white on that monitor. If a daily psychological profile was required for each of us, it would be interesting to see how much work would actually be accomplished. Now, imagine yourself stationed in space and just try to keep your heartrate below 80!

Ad Astra had its moments but it was underwhelming and a bit light on hard science. The low/no gravity seemed to be poorly and inconsistently portrayed. It definitely seemed like it was trying to be more meaningful and worthy than I think it was. And it had typical tropes that seemed lazy and unnecessary. I enjoyed it enough and the sets, costumes and props were quite wonderful of course but it was ultimately quite forgettable and nonsensical.I'm sure it was trying to say something about the mental journey of the main character rather than his space-faring one, but I don't know what it was. Could also be called "A series of unfortunate space-related events".

Let me start off by saying that the movie's pacing is unusual (think of the pacing of Interstellar; constant progress), but unlike Interstellar, this movie's climax is not as strong- but that's not a bad thing.

The whole movie is about how Brad Pitt is calm on the outside, but inside he is a storm of feelings. This can be a metaphor for space itself- always quiet, but is very complex inside.

The end of the movie (without spoiling it) also works with that logic- there is no loud Inception horn, in fact, seemingly it's pretty relaxed, but you can still sense the tension and emotions going on.

Now that's what I call "show don't tell"

Hello from Earth, Moon, Mars, Neptune, Space. Brad is all over the place. The film starts with a great sequence for approx. 7 minutes, which is captivating and visually stunning. Unfortunately, then it gets to a slow-burn mode till the story develops a bit more and we get to see another visually impressive sequence past 30 minutes. It does get more interesting later on and together with the visual impact (a kind of dreamy action sequences) and the nicely written score you will want to sit this through the end. Acting is good and for fans of Brad Pitt, this works perfect as he is in almost every scene. Science...well i am not an expert here but the things portrayed in the film are not really tied to exact science. It is the future after all and humanity knows more, right? I would not read too much into that; it will help you enjoy the film more. In contrast with some negative and maybe unrealistic reviews that I read here, if you like a mix of mild father-son drama together with sci-fi, this is a very nice film to watch. 8/10

Ad Astra uses the unlimited potential of sci-fi films, a genre, that can basically be used to develop themes about any psychological, or phylosophical problem there is. All the themes are very rich, and even though it's a space epic set in a world where traveling to the moon is not a very unusual thing to do, it all feels very real and personal.

This is a cinematic masterpiece in directing, sound and cinematography. It resembles 2001: A Space Odyssey in a few ways, mainly the lighting, and the colours of some scenes, a few angles too.

It always follows the main character's perspective, so the voiceover kind of makes sense, it's always the things that he thinks, or the stuff that's in his mind.

The music compliments the events of the story very well, the sounds were pretty realistic and jaw-dropping, and almost every frame is just beautiful.

The acting is mostly good. There weren't a lot of people in the film, but Brad Pitt and Tommy-Lee Jones are knocking it out of the park.

I only have a few little issues with the movie.

There was a scene with a CGI monkey, (you all know what I am talking about), which just came out of nowhere. It was really odd, and out of place. Also, the CG on it was the weakest in all of the movie.

My second issue was with the scene on the moon, with other vehicles. It was foreshadowed, but it really didn't need to be there, and while it was made very well and effectively, the events themselves are too unrealistic because of how convenient some things are.

Also, there are sequences where milimeters could matter, lives could be at stake if someone makes a mistake, and sometimes they are lucky enough to conveiniently survive.

But overall, this is something I'd like to see again. It shows how much ambition Sci-fi has, but it also shows what could go wrong with it.