A Reel Review: AD ASTRA

In the 1970’s, there was an effort to bring Joseph Conrad’s classic novel Heart of Darkness to the big screen by young and ambitions filmmakers George Lucas, John Milius, and the man who would direct it…Francis Ford Coppola. The idea came about to set the adaptation during the Vietnam War, and the project evolved into the grand and timeless APOCALYPSE NOW. Forty years later, just as Coppola’s film was inspired by the book, James Gray’s outer-space adventure AD ASTRA takes inspiration from Coppola and beyond. 

Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), is selected to head a secret mission into the solar system, to stop waves of energy surges that is threatening the Earth…surges that are being caused by McBride’s father Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), who vanished with his crew decades before around Neptune. 

Showing no shame, director James Gray takes what Coppola did and puts it into space. McBride hitches a ride on a ship with a crew that has no idea what his secret mission is, has an unscheduled stop that leads to disaster, all while McBride’s internally-thinking voiceovers dig into his relationship with his long lost father…a father that takes nearly the entire movie to get to. It’s loyal to APOCALYPSE NOW to nearly a fault, and anyone who has seen that film even once can see the familiar beats.

In lesser hands, this would be a bland remake, but AD ASTRA does manage to make the story its own. The void of space acts as a metaphor for the void in Roy’s life without a father, and the script explores that to a successful degree. Roy carries the film and proves to be a fascinating character; outside he is cold and emotionless…the perfect astronaut whose heartbeat always remains steady, while on the inside he laments his life and the choices he has made with his estranged wife (Liv Tyler). Familiar beats or not, it works and it works well.

It may be an old story in a new skin, but that new skin is magnificent. World-building is key here. Hints are given here and there to the state of space travel, which is grounded and despite taking place in the (near) future, seems to be the state that our real-world space programs would be going. Space-flight is commercialized, the military has their own branch of spacemen and women, the Moon is a goddamn tourist trap with disputed territories (another aspect that Roy laments), and the awe of space seems to have been replaced by familiar Earth-bound human conflicts. 

But the awe and wonder of space is not lost here. The film looks amazing. The vastness of space and planets such as Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune…filling the screen in stunning detail. Production design is outstanding from command consoles to cockpits to underground bunkers under the surface of Mars. The film is a wonder to look at. Pacing is a slow burn, but the action sequences are pulse-pounding for the audience…even if Roy’s doesn’t. Max Richter’s score is excellent. 

Acting is very good. Brad Pitt turns in one of his best performances; struggling on the inside while staying cool externally. His eyes say it all. Tommy Lee Jones is great as always, and extended cameos by Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland handled well. 

AD ASTRA finds a nice balance between characters journeying inward while they voyage out, something that is not easy to do. The finale plays it tight and straight almost to a fault, as audiences expecting a twist or major surprise may be disappointed. Much like the movie and novel that inspired it, AD ASTRA goes A to Z and back again, with everything in-between a grand and intriguing look at human beings and what they are capable of. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it