Ad Astra

If the movie consisted only of the shots of the Universe and those from outside the Earth with the grandiose music, it would make the most beautiful documentary about the Universe that has ever been made with that unbelievably beautifully filmed moon-action which was at the top level. But as it is now, the movie has a story with Brad Pitt in it and neither of those things add to its quality. It might captivate you with its visual, for example, in iMax but from the screenplay point of view you can’t wait for it to end. (07/10/2020)

Ad Astra is a psychological analysis of the mind of an astronaut who has to sort out his relationship with his dead (?) father. This is no spectacular sci-fi hit, but a cleverly written, self-reflective monologue of Brad Pitt’s character about inner doubts regarding the sense of absolute devotion to his work at the cost of deviating from the path where his heart is telling him to go. Space travel, though nicely conceived, makes the film “only” visually more attractive and adds a magical philosophical dimension. The climax may even disappoint some hardcore sci-fi fans expecting something big to happen. The film is akin to Chazelle’s First Man, which was, however, more emotional and fragile. (13/09/2019)

Coppola’s Apocalypse Now in a sci-fi guise, with the same structure and the same orientation points. Gray’s tribute to the master. The same as the book by Conrad that it’s based on, this is a story of the essence of man and our role in the environment in which we live. The result isn’t the same, but that doesn’t matter. The journey to find your father is more important than the destination. There is no lack of action scenes and Hoyte van Hoytema outdoes himself again. Visually, it is like manna for the eyes. Pitt’s voiceover as the guide with a mental state of stoic calm, who doesn’t like people, works excellently. As does the father figure veiled in secrets, played by Tommy Lee Jones. The universality of this story about loneliness is made more intense by the emptiness of space. The laws of physics are not too important here. Despite all the big scenes, it’s an extremely low-key movie. A meditative masterpiece that isn’t for everybody, but few people will walk away completely unsatisfied. (19/09/2019)

A beautifully filmed show of tasteful gibberish and persistent utterance of everything. In addition, culminating in a B-movie, which fully reveals how, despite the burden of beauty, Ad Astra is actually an internally simple movie that ostentatiously wears the robe of spiritual science fiction. I would have made it all about the monkeys. Space Baboons. (21/09/2019)

It looks beautiful. Hoyte Van Hoytema deserves an Oscar, the vastness and grandeur of space is literally palpable. It's beautiful to look at, the sound design its great, and in that respect Ad Astra can easily stand alongside both Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Unfortunately, though, the film is tripped up by its story, or rather its delivery. The plot itself, with its search for a father and other motifs, is not uninteresting, but neither is it fundamentally new or revelatory. That wouldn't be a problem, there are some questions that people will probably always ask, but James Gray seems to have no confidence in his audience and leads them by the hand unnecessarily. Instead of letting me meditate on life in the middle of infinity, he tried to serve me answers right under my nose. It was uncomfortable. It's as if Gray knew he had made an interesting and clever film, but didn't trust his audience to interpret it for themselves, so he tried to make it easy and, for my taste, unnecessarily too easy. Which, for me personally, ended up spoiling the overall experience. (13/09/2019)