Title: Ad Astra
Rating: PG-13
Director: James Gray
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Liv Tyler
Runtime: 2 hr 4 mins

What Is It: Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. Now his son — a fearless astronaut — must embark on a daring mission to Neptune to uncover the truth about his missing father and a mysterious power surge that threatens the stability of the universe.

What We Think: Weird yet intriguing. This is not the kind of film where the actions and events are the main concentration but rather the main focus is placed highly on the inner psyche of main character Roy McBride. Are the actions within the movie important? The answer is yes, however, strong emphasis is placed on McBride’s thoughts, emotions, and inner world. For individuals who are drawn to exploring the inner workings of an individual, this film may pique interest. In regards to performance, Brad Pitt did very well with this character in his attempt to capture the inner workings of a man who is still healing from past childhood pain and trauma. However admittedly, the role of Roy McBride is not his best role to date. The imagery in this film was absolutely beautiful as was the cinematography and lighting. Given the editing and imagery, this film in some ways reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey however with a heavy dose of psychology added in.

Our grade: B, This is definitely a unique kind of space film. Yes, you are going to get beautiful images of space and there is going to be an “end of the world’ crisis to solve. In the end, Ad Astra is a different kind of ride. I can certain give this a recommendation…sort of.