AD ASTRA – There’s more to this space film, but space is the coolest part

Ad Astra is a modern human story directed by James Gray told in a very believable futuristic world. What struck me most about this film was not the visuals (even though they were amazing) but the narrative style. Brad Pitt narrates the story as Roy McBride in such a calm, clear voice. Honestly, it’s the best ASMR I’ve heard in a while. He is the introspective story teller, making sure that the audience knows that this is his story and the motivations for each action he does. Because in this film Pitt is not exactly a hero— his astro suit is stained with blood. Yet, despite the blood and the high stakes in the film (everyone dying, I guess), it is a story about a father and a son, family bonds, and the ability to move on.

What I definitely loved about the film when I wasn’t busy staring at Brad Pitt was how it felt like a timeless story even though it takes place in such a unique setting. Someone works too hard, neglects their personal life, they have a shitty or non-existent family… All very relatable and definitely a story that has been told for ages, but the director makes it feel unique with the setting. It blends perfectly because there’s no emphasis on the space stuff. The movie doesn’t assume it needs to fill its audience in on everything. We just seamlessly blend into the plot as it moves forward and things like commercially flying to the moon just seem normal. It sounds like the story should contain space wars and obstacles galore—and it does contain some—but those scenes are short and not the main purpose of the film. It is not about blood and gore or even science. The terraforming of the planets takes a back seat to Roy being able to reach his father and just tell him to come home. A simple, straight to the point, totally relatable plot. Just that it’s in space. The space stuff was absolutely gorgeous. I would compare it to Gravity in the sense that it should be seen in a theater because it really does immerse you in space. I think the lure of a well-done space film will please most movie goers since they can stare at the galaxy even when the movie gets a little slow.

Despite the otherworldly distractions, though, I did not find the movie slow or boring. The bad father/son relationship thing however has been done to death. It’s hard sometimes for males to find fatherly role models is most of the major films in the past few years. So, I didn’t exactly get the closure I was hoping for at the end of the film, but I'll let you judge for yourselves whether or not you thought that Roy got the closure he literally traveled through space to find.

Rating: 3.5/5

There are two questions that I asked myself immediately after seeing the movie, and I want to know what you think if you've seen it. Do you think the narrative style helped the movie or made it seem slower? Do you wish more had happened in the climax with his father? Let me know in the comments!

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