Ad Astra: Movie Review

"Ad Astra" lures you in with it's fantastic cinematography and even more fantastic acting from its lead Brad Pitt. The adventure might reach the farthest points of our Solar System, but the conflicts and dilemmas that our lead faces are grounded and rooted to what makes us human.

Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to various places in the Solar System to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) who the authorities believe has gone rogue and his experiments a danger to Earth.

It would be easy to assume that the biggest factor that caught our eye with "Ad Astra" was its cinematography. And that in fact is partly true. A huge chunk on why "Ad Astra" was quite enjoyable was the wonderful camera work and the outstanding visual effects that kept the isolation and vastness of space close to audiences. It was one of those films that was able to capture the wonders and dangers of space exploration easily and naturally. It was a sci fi film but everything felt believable and achievable and not that far-off futuristic. But most importantly, beyond the visuals, science, and audio was Brad Pitt as the film's narrative and emotional anchor. His acting came out simply natural and grounded. His character may be a bad-ass when he needed to be one but it was well-balanced with a subdued and essential emotional core. If we could have one complaint for "Ad Astra" is that the eventual reveal felt lacking. The ending was great but the few scenes before that just felt lackluster. Overall, "Ad Astra" can easily be considered as one of the best sci fi drama films we have ever seen. It's one that is unconventional and emotional and thought-provoking all at the same time

Rating: 4 and a half reels





Why you should watch it:
- Amazing performance from Brad Pitt.
- Outstanding visuals and cinematography
- Believable and grounded science


Why you shouldn't watch it:
- The payoff reveal doesn't feel substantial