Ad Astra
/”I do what I do because of my dad.”
Filmology Rating: 3.25 out of 4
Ad Astra is the yearly pretentious, NASA-centered film with an A-list actor desperate for awards attention. 2013, it was 'Gravity.' 2014, it was 'Interstellar.' 2015, was 'The Martian.' 2016, was 'Hidden Figures.' 2017, was 'Life.' 2018, was 'First Man.' 2019, Brad Pitt with the same three expressions on his face for two hours.
Not a real astronaut, Brad Pitt, is asked behind closed doors to embark on a two hour runtime in space to find his delusional father and also not an astronaut, Tommy Lee Jones. Brad Pitt walks all the way across the studio to the set of Neptune to do so.
This might be the definitive Frankenstein's monster of a space movie. There are hints of '2001: A Space Odyssey' in here as well as 'Interstellar', and breathing very close narrative air to 'Event Horizon.' In that observation, it feels like 'Ad Astra' never escapes the films it mimics to become enough of its own thing to remain memorable in its own original way.
There is no denying the film's aesthetic. It's amazing to see what can be done with films set in space compared to something like 'Superman IV.' There is lots of contrast in color within the frame which lends to some great looking sequences.
Brad Pitt lacks the brio he showed in 'Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.' However, it's not that type of film. He is very Ryan Gosling in 'First Man' where the emotions are walled-off from the audience for a very long time. Which was problematic because you're never emotionally invested until the final act. The first two acts are largely carried by the visuals and "action." Yes, you heard that right. In this '2001'-inspired film we have action. It is very strange because it does feel added to keep audiences visually-occupied. One scene in particular involves a mammal, which felt very out of place in the bleaker tone of the film.
The best performance in the entire film is Tommy Lee Jones. He has a very condensed role until the third act where Jones makes up for that lost time. It's the type of performance where, just by the emoting and mannerisms, there looks to be a larger story we're not seeing with his character.
There is lots of interesting world-building in this film. Arguably, it was more fascinating than the actual film. What was so great was how realistic that future was. It wasn't a future where monitors/screens were everywhere and the walls are shiny; it all looked as if it was a few decades from now.
This is a very slow-moving film. Usually, a statement like that is not problematic. However, there was not enough emotional payoff for all that waiting to makeup for the slow pace. Unfortunately, the film's visuals and acting limply carries the film.
Rating: Rent It
-Nolan