Ad Astra * * * ½
My advice is to not think too much when you're watching this - either about the plot or the technical practicalities. But isn't that true of nearly all SF films?
Again, like nearly all SF films it conveniently ignores lack of gravity when it wants to. And it reduces space travel from years to days.
But put that aside and Ad Astra is an interesting yarn with a plot line rather similar to Apocalypse Now.
An astronaut who went missing years ago has gone rogue. He's up by Neptune, still in his spaceship and he is causing chaos. He is playing with anti-matter which causes storms on earth, which sounds ridiculous, like something from a Marvel comic, but they make it kind of believable.
Anyway, he's got to be stopped. So the best astronaut we have, McBride, is recruited to go sort him out. The twist is though, he happens to be his son.
They start off by sending him to the camp on Mars via The Moon. Both journeys have unexpected events to add extra thrills.
At Mars he is told he must have a bit of a chat with his ageing Dad on a Laser Phone. After a couple of seemingly unresponsive calls it's decided they're going to have to actually go to Neptune. They tell the son he is excluded as he is too emotionally involved. They might have to take some radical action when they get there
Well, that was their plan, but McBride has got other plans and pretty soon they realise they're dealing with a stowaway who wastes no time in taking command of the vessel. He wants to see his Dad. He hasn't had spoken to him for nearly thirty years and he's got a few awkward questions he'd like to ask.
Like Passengers (another lost opportunity) all this could make for a symbolically laden, heady, mythical story like something from The Bible or Greek Mythology, and it seems to have an awareness of that. At the same time it has a fear of actually doing it. It keeps wanting to demystify and explain itself and throw in a bit of silliness with rogue creatures and pirates. It might have been better if it dumped the distractions, let us figure out the meaning of the story, and spent a little more time explaining how sometimes there is gravity and sometimes there isn't, and how could there be billions of litres of water on Mars, and why vehicles on The Moon are open-top exposing the passengers, when they know they're likely to be under attack from pirates.
Otherwise it is beautiful to look at. There is some very fine photography here. There is convincing acting from the whole cast. Brad Pitt is excellent in the lead role as McBride, the son.
I can understand the temptation to go out there, but if you ask me, director James Grey does his best work (Two Lovers, The Immigrant) when his feet are firmly on the ground.
Again, like nearly all SF films it conveniently ignores lack of gravity when it wants to. And it reduces space travel from years to days.
But put that aside and Ad Astra is an interesting yarn with a plot line rather similar to Apocalypse Now.
An astronaut who went missing years ago has gone rogue. He's up by Neptune, still in his spaceship and he is causing chaos. He is playing with anti-matter which causes storms on earth, which sounds ridiculous, like something from a Marvel comic, but they make it kind of believable.
Anyway, he's got to be stopped. So the best astronaut we have, McBride, is recruited to go sort him out. The twist is though, he happens to be his son.
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| Are we nearly there yet? |
At Mars he is told he must have a bit of a chat with his ageing Dad on a Laser Phone. After a couple of seemingly unresponsive calls it's decided they're going to have to actually go to Neptune. They tell the son he is excluded as he is too emotionally involved. They might have to take some radical action when they get there
Well, that was their plan, but McBride has got other plans and pretty soon they realise they're dealing with a stowaway who wastes no time in taking command of the vessel. He wants to see his Dad. He hasn't had spoken to him for nearly thirty years and he's got a few awkward questions he'd like to ask.
Like Passengers (another lost opportunity) all this could make for a symbolically laden, heady, mythical story like something from The Bible or Greek Mythology, and it seems to have an awareness of that. At the same time it has a fear of actually doing it. It keeps wanting to demystify and explain itself and throw in a bit of silliness with rogue creatures and pirates. It might have been better if it dumped the distractions, let us figure out the meaning of the story, and spent a little more time explaining how sometimes there is gravity and sometimes there isn't, and how could there be billions of litres of water on Mars, and why vehicles on The Moon are open-top exposing the passengers, when they know they're likely to be under attack from pirates.
Otherwise it is beautiful to look at. There is some very fine photography here. There is convincing acting from the whole cast. Brad Pitt is excellent in the lead role as McBride, the son.
I can understand the temptation to go out there, but if you ask me, director James Grey does his best work (Two Lovers, The Immigrant) when his feet are firmly on the ground.
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