Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.
The Latin phrase “Ad Astra” means “To the stars” and this visual journey most certainly takes us there, and beyond. The story takes place in the near future where Brad Pitt plays astronaut Roy McBride. Roy is a terrific astronaut but he is a recluse, he welcomes his journeys into outer space so he can be alone but prefers to live his life away from the company of others on earth. This makes things very difficult between him and his wife Eve (Liv Tyler) as all his downtime on earth is spent studying for his next mission, leaving her pretty much by herself. He is contacted by the military and asked to attend a classified meeting with some of the top brass. Once there, he is informed that his father, Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), an astronaut who departed from earth many years ago on an expedition called the “Lima Project”, whose sole purpose was to search for extraterrestrial life and which took him and his crew to the outer edges of the solar system near Neptune, is not actually dead, as had previously been reported.
Fearing that Clifford has taken control of the ship and may have killed the rest of his crew, Roy is informed that they are preparing to send another ship out to Neptune to bring Clifford back or, if need be, to terminate him, depending on his mental state. Earth has been inundated with mysterious electrical surges that scientists presumed were coming from the sun but it is disclosed to Roy that his father is somehow responsible and that if the surges get any worse, they could not only destroy the earth but our solar system too. Roy signs up and heads out on his most pivotal mission to date, one that will bring him face-to-face with the man he thought he once knew and which could decide the fate of the universe.
“Ad Astra” is very ambitious in its technical prowess and in this regard, it does not disappoint. The visuals, from the heart-pounding opening which takes place on a space antenna that is struck by one of the electrical surges and shows Pitt plummeting towards the earth, to a daring chase across the moon’s surface, to a rescue mission of an abandoned spaceship between the moon and Mars, everything visual is absolutely breathtaking. “Ad Astra” immediately brings to mind Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-winning “Gravity,” starring Sandra Bullock, and much like that movie’s technical brilliance, “Ad Astra” matches it, and, in some scenes, even surpasses it. Where the movie flounders though, is in its screenplay. Pitt gives one of his best performances to date, a nuanced and auspicious role that seemed like it was written for him but neither his performance nor the technical aspects can save the film.
Pitt does a lot of pondering, I mean, A LOT. While at home studying for his next mission, he ponders. When he’s traveling to the moon, he ponders. On his way to Mars, he ponders. On his trip from Mars to Neptune, yep, you guessed it, he ponders. In between all his contemplation though, he manages to sneak in a very emotional and affecting performance, especially when it comes down to him and his estranged father. And that is the other hindrance of the movie. Tommy Lee Jones is an Oscar-winning actor but here, he appears adrift, much like the ship he inhabits. His craft is indeed the source of the electrical surges earth has been experiencing but it is never really explained how or why. Jones’s character, Clifford, tells Roy that he never loved him or his mother and never felt at home on earth, that is why he agreed to undertake the mission to the far reaches of space and when his crew tried to revolt against him when they realized that he had lost his mind, he killed them. Roy buries his feelings and naturally, doesn’t want to have to execute him and insists on him coming back to earth.
And he agrees. Begrudgingly. Between Clifford’s and Roy’s ship, the two men have an altercation and Clifford begs him to let him go, he doesn’t want to return to earth, rather, he’d prefer Roy let him drift off into the stars by himself. All of this comes on the heels of a big expositional scene in which Clifford stated that there was extraterrestrial life in the universe and that he knows where they are and plans on studying them and reaching out to them. On the one hand, he is dogged in his determination to stay in his ship and continue exploring the vast reaches of space and in the next scene, he’s begging to be let go so he can die amongst the stars. It’s almost as if writers James Gray and Ethan Gross didn’t know how to end the film and decided to just let him float off into oblivion. Up until this unsatisfying finale, the movie holds your attention throughout, even if it is slow-moving, it is never boring.
I will give the writers credit for creating a universe that seemed believable. In order to get to Neptune, one has to travel to the moon, then take another ship to Mars, and from Mars head out into deep space. It makes perfect sense and because I am not a scientist, I wouldn’t know if this was even realistic but within the context of the film, it is authentic and you are able to go along with it. The movie is thought-provoking and when the action transpires, it is edge-of-your-seat entertainment but sadly, those scenes are far and few between. Overall, you are either going to really like “Ad Astra” or you won’t, there really isn’t any middle ground. Go and see it and decide for yourself.
In Theaters Friday, September 20th
