Ad Astra: Thought Provoking Epic or Dull Visual Spectacle?
Ad Astra, a movie which follows a man’s adventure into the outer regions of space to find his lost father, had quite the journey itself to reach theaters. A constantly changing release date, combined with the Disney-Fox merger drama, left the film as a bit of a question mark in terms of what to anticipate. Early film festival and critic buzz promised a masterfully made entry into the space epic genre. All seemed smooth sailing from then on until audiences got their hands on it, with many calling it boring and dull. Aside from tempering my expectations, the question for me became…on whose side of the divide would my opinion fall.
Overall, the critics seem to have the right take on this one. While some of the general public appears to hold those same opinions, I feel like many aren’t appreciating the excellence of this film. Perhaps it’s going in hoping for one thing and getting another. Maybe those people will have very different thoughts upon a second viewing in which they now know what to expect. I’m not trying to denigrate those that dislike Ad Astra. I just always wonder and find it funny, yet also extremely interesting how we can have such varying opinions on movies. I guess that’s one of the things I love most about cinema, especially when it comes to good, thought provoking stories.
Although many may disagree, the pacing in Ad Astra felt spot on. Every scene feels necessary with interesting dialogue. The film also ends at the perfect time, making sure not to overstay its welcome. Audiences again get treated to an amazing Brad Pitt performance. Between this and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, it is the year of Pitt and I, for one, could not be more satisfied. Brad Pitt is a national treasure and one of our greatest actors/personalities. While it’s an extremely stoic performance, it’s also very nuanced and complex. This really shows in all of Pitt’s psychological evaluation scenes. As his character starts to break down more and more emotionally, these scenes make an increasingly powerful impact.
Technically, Ad Astra is a masterful exploration of filmmaking. The imagery, VFX effects, and music all feel top notch. Visuals can only take you so far, however, and luckily, the subject matter is just as strong. The film takes a deep dive into the many truths of human nature and relationships, using space to tell what ironically feels like a very grounded story. Pitt’s relationships with both his father and Liv Tyler explore very real human emotions. His problems feel very true to life and it makes such an unapproachable science fiction story seem believable. While the inclusion of Liv Tyler’s highlights Pitt’s emotionless personality, his attachment to Tommy Lee Jones indicates why he his the way he is and reveals his greatest fear of being an emotionally detached companion.
Ad Astra is kind of like the Interstellar I wanted. The relationships and emotions resonated with me and the film includes some of the most interesting representations of the near future I have ever seen. Perhaps it’s because these scenarios and the way they are shown feel so possible. Things ranging from commercial space travel to a girl born on Mars having only a distant childhood memory of traveling to Earth really get you thinking.
That all said, the film isn’t without its flaws, just like anything else. Some of the characters’ actions and motivations feel questionable, at times. Even this though doesn’t’t feel like a huge issue especially because after discussing it with the group I went with, I started to understand some of their actions more. Regardless, I am still unsure that some of the situations would play out the same way in real life. The overlay of sometimes pretentious voice over dialogue doesn’t help the case. While some lines feel very true to life, others seem to be trying too hard to be revelatory and it makes you hope you aren’t buying too much in to those elements of the film.
The other possibly problematic thing about Ad Astra is how much it borrows from what came before. The comparisons made about this movie have been endless. Whether it be 2001: A Space Odyssey, First Man, or Interstellar, they are all completely valid. The one which is most obvious to me, however, is Apocalypse Now. The main story elements feel very reminiscent of that 1979 classic. Even something as simple as Brad Pitt’s voice over work, including his tone and inflection, seems like an homage to Martin Sheen’s performance. It is understandable that some may deem this as a negative of the film, a lack in creativity. Others will see it as a clever reinterpretation of a familiar story. Apocalypse Now after all was itself inspired by the literary phenomenon, Heart of Darkness. I’m not sure were I stand on that point and only time will tell where my opinion falls. A definite downside is that this makes Ad Astra some what predictable even though I still found myself plenty satisfied by both the journey and the ending.
Ad Astra is one of those few films that I had such high anticipation for that ended living up to my expectations upon an initial view. Like any movie, I need to let it sit with me and I am of the opinion that it takes several years until you can truly form a definitive opinion on a movie like this. As of now, although initial audience reactions may be mixed, I can see Ad Astra becoming a modern classic in the decades to come.
