Movie review: Ad Astra – To daddy issues & beyond
The alternative tagline for this sci-fi adventure film could be "To daddy issues and beyond".
Usually, Hollywood movies' seemingly endless desire to work it out with dad sends my eyes rolling.
Yet, while it does play a large part in Ad Astra, it is testament to James Gray and Brad Pitt's abilities that it works.
In the cold light of text, the ingredients of Ad Astra would make for a great daft space opera - it has a secret mission, earth under attack, all life threatened. It even has moon pirates and a martian. You can instantly picture the Michael Bay version.
But Gray has crafted a much more intimate film. This is close to Apocalypse Now in space – an introspective journey of a man tasked to go to a far-flung place to confront and solve a situation.
The true key to it working is Pitt. As astronaut Roy McBride, he is barely off the screen and often in close-up. And if you are going to stare at an actor's face for two hours, you want it to be Pitt – here in a role that mirrors the stoicism of his character in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, though with fewer smiles. Yet Pitt does so much with only a few expressions.
Gray does not move fast, and the pace matches that of McBride's amazingly low resting heart rate. Some will call it evenly paced, some may be bored. Hopefully, you watch it with a polite audience who won't reach for the phones .
Gray has created a very (oxymoronic) grounded universe. The pioneering thrill of space travel has gone. You fly commercial to the moon and will be charged over $100 for a blanket. The moon has been colonised though this moonbase is closer to a mega mid-range airport/mall and plastered with brand logos (There's even a replica of the neon cowboy sign from Las Vegas' Pioneer Club casino).
Bringing a weary realism to proceedings, the moon is also a hotly contested mass with it being carved into various zones and even having an No Man's Land and marauders.
With that and later revelations, despite the awesome visuals, it almost seems like Gray is done with space before we even properly get out there.
There are some moments of action – the race against the moon pirates being brilliantly realised.
It is hard to not feel that this film wears it influences on its sleeve. Like in Apocalypse Now, our protagonist meets various people on his journey – some help, some hinder, some are well on their way to having some form of mental episode. The further he travels, the stranger things get.
It also feels like the point where 2001: A Space Odyssey, First Man, Blade Runner 2049 and Tree Of Life – the latter for both the dad issues and Brad Pitt voiceover – meet.
While it does not quite hold together for the ending, Ad Astra is a welcome change of pace that will have you debating its meaning for some time.
SCORE: 3.5/5
FILM: Ad Adstra
STARRING: Brad Pitt, Ruth Negga, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland
DIRECTOR: James Gray
THE SKINNY: Energy blasts from the outskirts of the solar system threaten all life on earth. Astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) is tasked to discover if it has anything to do with a deep-space mission his father (Jones) embarked upon decades earlier.
RATING: PG13
Now showing
Rambo: Last Blood (M18)
John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) must confront his past and unearth his combat skills to exact revenge in a final mission.
Rotten Tomatoes: 28%
The Goldfinch (NC16)
This adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel revolves around a man (Ansel Elgort) whose life was changed when, as a young boy (Oakes Fegley), his mother was killed in a museum bombing.
Rotten Tomatoes: 27%
Can You Keep A Secret? (M18)
A woman's (Alexandra Daddario) life is embarrassingly turned upside down when her new boss (Tyler Hoechlin) turns out to be the stranger she spilled her secrets to on a turbulent plane ride.
Rotten Tomatoes: 30%
Killerman (M18)
A money launderer (Liam Hemsworth) desperately searches for answers after waking up with no memory, millions in stolen cash and drugs, plus dirty cops violently hunting him down.
Rotten Tomatoes: 19%
Good Boys (NC16)
A trio of 12-year-old friends (Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon and Keith L. Williams) skip school and set off on an odyssey of epically bad decisions involving accidentally stolen drugs.
Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
Hustlers (M18)
A crew of former strip club employees (Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Keke Palmer and Lili Reinhart) band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Weathering With You (PG)
A runaway high school student-turned- magazine writer (Kotaro Daigo) meets a girl (Nana Mori) who possesses the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now