Ad Astra

Synopsis:

A space thriller that follows Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) on a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.

Movie Review (Words by Rhett Evans)

Imagine if you had an estranged father (or mother) who was a revered hero in your field of work, then you were tasked with a mission to reconnect with them because they may be behind events that threaten the survival of Earth itself. That’s the premise behind Ad Astra (Latin for “to the stars”).

A movie, that I have to admit wasn’t much of a blip on my radar leading up to its release because as cool as Brad Pitt is, “Brad Pitt in space” wasn’t enough to even interest me in watching the movie’s trailers when they were released. In saying that though, I’m still glad I watched it, because it allowed me to experience something I haven’t done in a long time: watching a movie with little to no expectations.

Beyond the relationship, or lack thereof, of Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) and his father, Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), there is much more to Ad Astra:

Stunning scenes of gorgeous space environments that will remind you that it’s a damn shame that Brisbane doesn’t have any cinemas with IMAX projectors any more;

The film looks at sustainability and makes you wonder whether we’re doomed to always repeat the “sins of the father”, regardless of how far we’ve come;

Thrilling action scenes, and even a few moments of humour as the film examines the commercialisation of space travel.

But as an introvert, the main thing I took from Ad Astra was its look at introversion and the mental health that comes with that, and especially how that’s viewed by corporations. “In space, no one can hear you scream” was the classic tagline for the movie Alien, and so the tagline for Ad Astra should be, “In space, will anyone listen to you if you scream?”