Brad Pitt takes us to infinity, and beyond...
Director: James Gray
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland
Running time: 123 mins
Someone is sending cosmic surges from planet Neptune. The next one will destroy the Earth. Could it be that Tommy Lee Jones, last seen en route to the outer solar system? Luckily, one man can save us. Brad Pitt. He’s perfectly qualified for the job. First, he’s a shit-hot astronaut. Second, his heartbeat never goes above eighty, even when he’s falling from a space tower. And third? He’s Tommy Lee’s son.
So begins Brad’s odyssey. He travels to the moon and on to Mars. We get an intriguing vision of how space colonies might look. Rocket flights reduced to commercial airlines (that’ll be two hundred dollars for the hot towel, Sir). Deadly moon buggy chases. And a Starbucks on every corner.
Suddenly kicked off the mission, good ol’ Brad stows away on the next rocket bound for Neptune. Who is waiting for him there? Can he confront his daddy issues before the last reel? Will his heartbeat break eighty and bring him back to the human race?
At times, you think this movie is going to turn into Kubrick or Tartovsky. And their influence is clearly seen in the set design. Certainly, Pitt is at his most solemn and has a habit of asking deep questions. Sadly, there are no answers here. What we have however, are stunning action sequences, awesome special effects and enough rollercoaster rides to fill a vomit bag. If you suffer from vertigo, close your eyes during the early scenes. You have been warned!
Pitt’s screen presence holds the film together as usual, and the script goes at a cracking pace
There is the usual ‘Hollywood science’. How does a spaceship make itself come to a complete halt in the vacuum of space? Can gaffer tape really make an airtight seal? And we know Donald Sutherland is as tough as reinforced steel, but at 84 isn’t he a bit too old to be blasting into space?
Then there’s the convenient way a likeable space crew randomly decide to kill Brad Pitt and inadvertently kill themselves in the process. Please!
There is some message about father-son relationships, letting go of the past, living in the moment, but it’s buried under so many take-offs and crashes. And Tommy Lee seems ready for a one-way trip to the care home. To be fair, the two hours whizzed by. Pitt’s screen presence holds the film together as usual, and the script goes at a cracking pace. The movie is studded with set-piece scenes that will have you biting your nails. And look out for the space baboons!
Did you know? The title means "to the stars" in Latin. It is often used as a shorthand for "Per Aspera Ad Astra" (Through the hardships to the Stars).
Ad Astra is screening at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 26 September
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