Patience does pay off with slow-burn sci-fi
In a market saturated with superheroes and sequels, and rocking with reboots, it’s always nice when something shiny and new comes along.
Though it takes influence from sci-fi hits like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Gravity, Ad Astra is an original piece of work directed and co-written – with Ethan Gross – by James Gray (We Own the Night, The Yards).
Its impressive cast is led by Brad Pitt, playing astronaut Roy Mcbride who undertakes a space mission to uncover the truth about his missing dad Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones) and his doomed expedition.
Much like Gray’s last flick, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra is a slowburner with a two-hour-plus running time that will test even the most patient cinema-goer.
The New Yorker rises to the challenge of helming his biggest, most ambitious movie, though, with visuals worthy of comparison with the genre’s finest.
Like the aforementioned Gravity, we feel like we’re right there with Roy in space as intrusive close-ups and expansive wide shots capture the interior claustrophobia and exterior wonders and danger of his mission; see Ad Astra on as big a screen as possible for the full immersive experience.
I almost wish this had just been a film focused solely on Pitt – who is superb – as the storyline progression involving Jones doesn’t really click; and is too reminiscent of horror-flavoured pulpy sci-fi like Event Horizon and Sunshine than the human drama we’ve been accustomed to earlier in the movie.
Set in the near future, the world of Earth-bound conflict and tourist trips to the moon feels lived-in and perfectly plausible.
Ad Astra won’t be a universal crowd-pleaser – especially among the fun-seeking Friday night crowd – but if thought-provoking drama set across the galaxy with formidable acting is your thing then prepare to lift-off. While still failing to match the first two seasons’ quality, The Flash remains a fun watch in its fifth run.
Chris Klein’s big bad is pretty lame but there’s a welcome return for Tom Cavanagh’s Reverse Flash.