AD ASTRA – Review

Director/writer James Gray’s film AD ASTRA (a Latin term meaning ‘to the stars’) is a rare find – an outstanding science-fiction film more interested in ideas than scary critters. AD ASTRA takes place in an unspecified future, described as “a time of conflict and hope”. Brad Pitt stars as Roy McBride, an astronaut so calm his pulse doesn’t rise even when he’s introduced tumbling free-fall to Earth from a Space Antenna in the upper atmosphere. An electric surge has caused Roy’s latest project’s destruction, along with thousands of other catastrophes worldwide. It’s soon clear the energy blasts are coming from Neptune. That’s the location of the ‘Lima Project’, a lost expedition lead by Roy’s father (and American hero) Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) thirty years earlier. Roy and a small crew are enlisted by Colonel Pruitt (Donald Sutherland) and others for a mission that will eventually take him to Neptune by way of the Moon and then Mars.  Roy’s new mission is to determine if his father is alive, discover why he wants to threaten the extinction of life on Earth, and to destroy the Lima Project.

From this synopsis, AD ASTRA does not sound too different from most films about space travel, but there is a whole lot more to this intelligent film than the sci-fi hook. The thought-provoking, two-hour film is a welcome change of pace from summer no-brainers. It’s complex, but not hard to follow and the fact that it is smart does not mean that it’s not entertaining. There’s a chase scene featuring space pirates on moon-buggys that provides conventional excitement. There’s humor in the sequence where Roy flies Virgin Airlines to the moon where his stewardess charges him $125 for a pillow, then the moon is presented as an amusement park with an Applebees and families lining up to have their photos taken with phony space creatures. While there are no extraterrestrials on display, there is one shocking reveal involving a homicidal primate on a ghost ship that will having audiences jumping out of their skin.

AD ASTRA has its preposterous moments, especially when Roy travels untethered in his space suit through the rings of Saturn holding a screen shield to ward off flying space rocks and another scene when Roy scales the outside of a rocketship to gain entry just as it’s taking off. But if the physics of AD ASTRA can be hard to swallow, the film still enthralls. Grey is such a potent filmmaker that he is capable, for long stretches at a time, of sweeping you up in his vision. His complex, virtuoso camera moves and elegant compositions rise to the celestial occasion. It’s helmed by DUNKIRK cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema who delivers a richness of depth and color, especially the inkiest of blacks. Its unobtrusive use of digital effects means that you never feel pulled out of the story while composer Max Richter’s score delivers the right amount of passion. Brad Pitt is terrific in a low-key, introspective performance that channels Gary Cooper more than the swaggering Cliff Booth from the Tarantino film. It’s mostly Pitt’s show though Donald Sutherland and Ruth Negga both shine in small parts. One of the best films of the year, AD ASTRA is a trip well worth taking.

4 of 4 Stars