I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say Roy journey goes far beyond Mars. It’s here that we are brought into the expanded universe created by director James Gray and writer Ethan Gross. The moon now appears to be a tourist destination with an Applebee’s and various Vegas casinos. Then out on Mars, the colonization by the military is in full swing with a secret purpose and just the plain-old secrets swarming every inch of that base.
As the son’s journey of old, instead of fighting dragons in a far-off land, we have moon pirates chasing Roy and his escorts hoping to loot their supplies. And the discovery of a sunken ship in the ocean takes the form of an unexpected rescue mission, and then there’s the final destination on Mars, that seems like a utopia but hides many dangerous secrets. Half of its inhabitants do not know what the other half is actually doing. Who exactly are the bad guys in this film?
“…the low energy performance translates into a two-hour low energy film.”
Ad Astra is an exciting story. In fact, as I read my summary, I wish I had actually seen THAT movie. Instead, Ad Astra moves at a slow and plodding pace. It matches the energy of Pitt’s performance as Roy McBride. Pitt is strong as the emotionally detached astronaut and maintains this detachment through about ninety percent of the film. But the low energy performance translates into a two-hour low energy film. Watch the trailer, and you’ll get an accurate idea of the depressed tone and low energy of the entire movie.
I also had issues with balance in the filmmaker’s world-building. I liked many of the ideas about the future of the militarization of outer space and its unattended consequences, including a rebel attack on the moon, the strange and foreboding rescue mission…everything. But not enough attention was given to this world and instead focused on the story of a father and son. These elements are literally shown at the distance. We are teased with this new future, but spend very little time experiencing it. I know I’ve criticized movies for the exact opposite reason but the issue here is balance…both ways.
We may run a feature on the science of Ad Astra in the future, but let’s just say the science is also a little off (more to come). In the end the real problem with the film is tone and pace. Let’s revisit my original question. How far would you go to resolve your daddy issues? Centuries ago, the journey spanned thousands of miles. In Ad Astra, the mission is a few billion miles, and it feels like a billion miles.
"…how far would you go to resolve your daddy issues?"
