Ad Astra (2019)

Once upon a time... in a Galaxy...

-Spoilers Abound-

My love of sci-fi had me chomping-at-the-bit to see this movie. As soon as it opened at my local cinema I was there, I left work early especially to be one of the first people to see it.

Now this love of sci-fi stems from many things in my past. Mostly a childhood built around outer space adventures, dreams of world-saving heroes, and seeking out the mysterious, searching for answers to life’s unknowns. The trailer for Ad Astra, or ‘To the Stars’*, seemed to tell of just such a space adventure.

My love for Brad Pitt films on the other hand, well that’s quite a different story. I lost my interest after Ocean’s 11 and it’s taken a while to rekindle. Angelina had a lot to do with it, but I digress…

Ad Astra gives us a glimpse into a ‘near future’ where entrepreneur extraordinaire Elon Musk’s vision of space exploration has come true. So, we have a Subway sandwich to look forward to on the Moon among other things. 

All is not what it seems in this latest tale of man’s thirst to discover new planets, and new life. With an opening scene to die for, and a premise to intrigue, Ad Astra’s hero Roy McBride (Pitt) is on a top-secret mission, a quite personal mission, with a remit to save the universe.

Some fine acting on show here from the likes of Tommy Lee Jones as H. Clifford McBride, and a personal favourite of mine Donald Sutherland, as a rather worn-out companion/handler Thomas Pruitt. 

What I found exceptional about the film is the fact that it is full of homage to many other films on the subject, from the reflective visors and orchestrated space-station moves of Kubrick’s 2001:A Space Odyssey (1968), to mirroring Planet of the Apes, to styling ideas taken in copy from Chris Marker’s, La Jetee, (1962), of which Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys (1995) is based – coincidentally another movie featuring Brad Pitt.

This film is expertly executed by writer/director James Gray, with spectacular cinematography (a name and a half 'Mr Hoyte van Hoytema'). The action, when it comes, and goes, is thrilling, and you certainly want more of it, but as our hero approaches his goals, things turn dark.  Pitt is superb in the role for once, as he broods and mopes, stares into space, barely cracking a smile. 

Nothing beats that feeling of travelling through the solar system alongside our protagonist. The further away from earth he gets, the deeper into space he reaches, the more isolating and depressing it becomes. Earthlings are bad tourists, bringing their usual crap with them, when not at war, they’re disrespecting the environment.

With deep space comes deep sadness, ‘We’re all we’ve got’, Roy tells Clifford. There you have it, the denouement delivered deadpan by our hero, sealing the deal on this being one of the most interesting yet depressing sci-fi experiences. 

As a final note, I’ll leave a warning to any future space captains out there. When a national hero says, “You don’t need to answer that call”, listen to him, k?

*=Seneca: “Per aspera ad Astra.” Through Hardships to the Stars