Ad Astra

I like sci fi as a genre because of the ideas. There doesn't need to be shocks, suspense even. But there should be excitement, often borne of seeing a clever idea germinate, take root and blossom...ideally into a dark flower. Ad Astra has one narrative thread, a couple of ideas, but nothing beyond that. It's an extemely rushed film...2 billion miles in 2 hours. It's rushed and dull though...not a good combination. The dramatic mkments are crow-barred in...the moon sequence...the Norwegian space ship. Neither are there to move narrative or charchter forwrd though, and as such feel terribly contrived. And as for this film's Colonel Kurtz...don't bother. I kinda wish i hadn't.

Hello from Earth, Moon, Mars, Neptune, Space. Brad is all over the place. The film starts with a great sequence for approx. 7 minutes, which is captivating and visually stunning. Unfortunately, then it gets to a slow-burn mode till the story develops a bit more and we get to see another visually impressive sequence past 30 minutes. It does get more interesting later on and together with the visual impact (a kind of dreamy action sequences) and the nicely written score you will want to sit this through the end. Acting is good and for fans of Brad Pitt, this works perfect as he is in almost every scene. Science...well i am not an expert here but the things portrayed in the film are not really tied to exact science. It is the future after all and humanity knows more, right? I would not read too much into that; it will help you enjoy the film more. In contrast with some negative and maybe unrealistic reviews that I read here, if you like a mix of mild father-son drama together with sci-fi, this is a very nice film to watch. 8/10

I had fun watching it. The cast was amazing. Brad Pitt is obviously the highlight of the movie. Tommy Lee Jones was just classic Tommy Lee Jones.

The story is interesting, but some parts of it is kind of confusing and leave you with questions. And when I say questions, don't think that this is Interstellar or 2001 Space Odyssey level movie. It's not even close to those classics. The plot starts off by showing what the main character's mission is, what he is going to do, but then they end up doing something else instead. So huh? The opening scene was really interesting. I can see this movie having lots of fans. Some people will really love it, and some people ( like me) won't be really that impressed. Overall, I do recommend going and seeing it for yourselves to form your own opinions.

'Ad Astra' was a film I knew nothing about going in, and i'm glad I went in blind. It was visually gorgeous with nail biting set pieces, but the story hit me in just the right spot. It takes a good script for you to hear voice over in lieu of dialogue and not feel like you're being cheated, and this script was, in my mind, excellent. It's a vibe-y film that spends a lot of time in silence, and if you're like me you'll really appreciate the time it takes to develop the emotional and visual severity. On its surface it's a space epic, but in its heart it will speak to victims of depression, as well as anyone who's ever spent years feeling like they didn't belong. It takes a journey greater than most are wiling to take to find your deepest demons and confront them. Absolutely loved it.

Let me start off by saying that the movie's pacing is unusual (think of the pacing of Interstellar; constant progress), but unlike Interstellar, this movie's climax is not as strong- but that's not a bad thing.

The whole movie is about how Brad Pitt is calm on the outside, but inside he is a storm of feelings. This can be a metaphor for space itself- always quiet, but is very complex inside.

The end of the movie (without spoiling it) also works with that logic- there is no loud Inception horn, in fact, seemingly it's pretty relaxed, but you can still sense the tension and emotions going on.

Now that's what I call "show don't tell"