Honestly, it's kind of a downer movie, but I guess when you're wrestling with the infinite depths of space while coming to terms with an unrequited father-son relationship while saving the solar system from imminent destruction it's not always kitty cats and butterflies. There are times that it approaches the psychedelia of Claire Denis' aforementioned HIGH LIFE, and the film is worth a rewatch for the well crafted mood and atmosphere that wash over the story from time to time.īut of course, what modern space epic is complete without parental issues, and unlike INTERSTELLAR we don't get some saccharine lovey-dovey conclusion to Pitt's quest for his DAd Astra. I was quite honestly shocked and unsettled several times by the stark brutality of the occasional bits of violence and gore. As it mesmerizes and languishes in a very lived-in, not-too-distant future, you get this false sense of security until the action set pieces sneak up.
![boys vid 4.0 bomdage boys vid 4.0 bomdage](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ce6tuHUUYAA0dZ1.jpg)
Z was too esoteric for your average mouth-breathing audience member, and Gray was forced to over-compensate here.Īside from those lazy and bumbling narrative devices the film keeps pace rather well. It struck me as really lazy storytelling, and unnecessarily so as one could easily guess this stuff from the dialogue alone. We find this out because of A&E Biography with Peter Graves-styled news footage, photo collages, and vlogs. Then we find out his father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, was considered the greatest astronaut to ever live thanks to his space expeditions in the search for extraterrestrial life. Sometimes it's framed under the auspices of a psych evaluation, but mostly it's just him talking to himself so that we know exactly what's going on in his head. We know this because Pitt basically reads his character's psychological biography in BLADE RUNNER theatrical cut narration. Pitt plays an astronaut who can seemingly do no wrong as military space man, a passionless fellow who is disconnected from his emotions and the world around him. It's not enough to stifle appreciation of the grandeur of the film it's just some little annoyances. Unfortunately, with a greater distribution and audience for AD ASTRA (probably thanks in no small part to permanent A-lister Brad Pitt), comes a few more cinematic sins than in Gray's previous efforts.
![boys vid 4.0 bomdage boys vid 4.0 bomdage](http://www.thebiblecomesalive.com/www.TheBibleComesAlive.com/JUNIOR-OLYMPIC-RUNNING-CLUB_files/shapeimage_6.png)
Thematically, he picks up right where that film left off with a grandiose yet misanthropic explorer hell-bent on a nearly impossible goal. Never have I seen a space epic delve so deep into the mind numbing tedium of logistic space travel, but AD ASTRA sure does look good doing it.ĭirector James Gray got to cut his teeth a bit on the adventure film genre with his outstanding 2017 film THE LOST CITY OF Z.
![boys vid 4.0 bomdage boys vid 4.0 bomdage](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51+xXnShj4L._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
And that's great! I'm in no hurry, so by all means you little SOLARIS babies, come at your own lugubrious, lethargic pace. Between HIGH LIFE and now AD ASTRA the slow burn sci-fi resurgence of 2019 is.taking its sweet time.