Ad Astra

RATING: B+

There's always a few unexpected hits in the movie world per year (or maybe less, depending on the year). The "unexpected" factor is especially true in a world of sequels, reboots and spin-offs where most of the originality comes from already-made source material rather than 100% original ideas. Ad Astra is kind of one of those--at least in that it came out of nowhere after multiple release delays and was met with heavy critical acclaim. The audience response--and box office turnout--wasn't so enthusiastic, so at this point it's been probably already almost forgotten by the average person.

Taking place an unclear amount of time in the future, this is a more cerebral sci-fi movie--but still with some degree of adventure to it. While it could be compared to Interstellar, it does seem a little more like a couple of those "action scenes" were tacked on mostly so people wouldn't fall asleep. It does help with that, but the movie doesn't really feel that boring even though it does take on a naturally slow pace.

Anyway, in this more cerebral sci-fi movie, Earth is being threatened by a catastrophe--from millions of miles away in outer space out at Neptune from a space-exploration project gone awry. So Brad Pitt's character, Roy (the heavy focus here), sets out/is sent out into outer space to find the person responsible manning the project--his long-lost father.

There's a couple different major aspects to this movie. First, there's the space travel journey in of itself. This is all done very well, as we are given a mostly-realistic depiction of things out there. And the visuals for much of what we see there are generally excellent. There's an extended sequence on the Moon that has some excellent background shots, and a lot of the exterior scenes at Neptune look terrific as well.

Then there's the character aspect--because besides the sci-fi aspect, this is more of a character study. To a degree, perhaps too much so, because sometimes the narrative itself gets a little lost in the shuffle. Still, it does prove intriguing, as we see Brad Pitt portray what is essentially a cold emotionless robot of a human being (as is pretty much required in space, apparently). We also get a lot of narration/inner dialogue from Roy, and it's here where Pitt seems to shine best in his line readings. He captures quite well the cold and melancholy side of the character.

Actually, melancholy and introspective-ness is something this film captures quite well. The soundtrack helps a lot with that. There's one extended sequence in particular which stands out as the highlight of the movie when Roy has to make the final leg of his journey to Neptune--a 79-day one, completely alone (due to various circumstances). The movie superbly captures the feeling of solitude amidst the vastness of space with the visuals as well as Pitt's performance and dialogue.

Still, amidst the movie's ambition, it does miss the mark in a few regards. As previously stated, it sometimes gets so engrossed in its character study and vision that the narrative itself gets a little lost in the shuffle. Besides Roy and his father, other characters whom are played by some respected actors/actresses (namely Donald Sutherland) are all too one-note and cast aside too quickly.

There's also a couple of wasted opportunities in the narrative that result from tunnel vision on Roy's character. There's his father Clifford, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Despite the presence he has throughout the movie, we hardly see him until the very end. And while he (narrowly) escapes being an afterthought, his character in particular deserved more focus. He plays a big role in the background, but there's not nearly enough light shed on him or what made him the way he is by the film's end. Elsewhere, we get shown a fully established Moon base--which unfortunately has brought the ills of humanity along with it. This should've had some a little more focus as well.

While Ad Astra is ultimately a quite well done thinking man's science fiction movie, it doesn't quite reach the heights of its ambition. That's perhaps in part because it gets a little too narrowly focused at times. Nevertheless, it's still a well made movie and one that's certainly worth the watching. It should particularly appeal to those who appreciate genres like sci-fi or adventure but are franchise-weary. It's not masterpiece-level, but it's probably one of the better original works you'll watch all year.