Ad Astra

A Distinctive Gorgeous Looking Sci-fi Flick, Featuring Brad at his Finest! - 8.5/10

by Popcult Productions

“Ad Astra (2019)”
Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes 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.
As noted before Ad Astra was one of our most anticipated movies of the year and coming out of the film we can definitely say that it sure as hell didn’t disappoint. James Gray’s ambitious sci-fi direction and Brad Pitt’s best performance ever put to screen grant the film a position among top class space films from the likes of “Interstellar”, “First Man”, and “The Martian”. At this point it’s needless to pinpoint the breathtaking visuals and the gorgeous cinematography crafted by the talented Hoyte Van Hoytema, who took the artistic aspect of this film to creative new heights. Especially that the movie packs some of the most realistic space effects deeming it original among other space based sci-fi flicks and a total treat for the eyes.
Shelving the look of the film aside and given the fact that James Gray didn’t shy away from inserting close up angle shots, Brad Pitt was still able to grab hold of the detailed emotional facial expressions and the well-executed eye movements that assembled a full accurate representation of a character who’s calm and disciplined, while hinting simultaneously at the frightened psychological burden that Roy carries throughout the story.
In addition, we really think that this film wouldn’t have worked without the voiceover featured by Roy himself. And that’s due to the story coming off as a multi-layered psychological evaluation and follow up of the things Roy is going through. Plus, because the film carries a lot of one sided dialogue and mysterious vibes to some certain sequences, the voice over worked perfectly in acting as a plot reminder to the audience and in clueing them in on the unhurried transformation Brad’s character encounters. And that might be the reason a lot of popcorn moviegoers will judge this film as Slow Burn. Which is totally understandable, cause the film takes the full time in building up specific sequences in order to provide the perfect mysterious vibe and also in delving deep into the basis of Roy’s mental transformation.
“Ad Astra” is definitely one of the best films of the year and if it were really up to us we would give Brad two Academy nominations for the roles of Roy and Cliff Booth! We suggest you give Ad Astra a watch as soon as possible cause it’s a must watch!
⚖️ Final Rating: 8.5/10

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