Per Ardua Ad Astra

Its a little after the event, but I picked up a copy of the space epic 'Ad Astra' the other day, originally released in 2019 and starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland. Its intended as a 'hard sci-fi' look at a future space mission, but with a real space bias, not unlike the science heavy 'The Martian'.

Visually, its beautiful, with sweeping vistas of space, the Moon and Mars, before visiting the distant reaches of the solar system and an orbit around Neptune. As eye candy, its flawless, especially the fast paced lunar rover pursuit on the moon surface, which looks every inch like legitimate NASA footage - at least until Pitt whips out a laser and dispatches a few moon pirates - bringing it back down to 'Moon Zero Two' territory.

The story itself is quite good, if a little light on plot and reasoning - Tommy Lee Jones has disappeared in deep space some years previously on the first Neptune mission and suddenly, pulses of anti matter energy seem to be threatening Earth with global destruction. Cue Brad Pitt, the only man to save the world, who promptly method acts his way through the film, soul searching and pondering his way though the narrative, but barely breaking into a sweat at any time, even when faced with freefalling from a power mast, battling blood thirsty baboons and climbing into a rocket via the engines during takeoff.

This for me is the weakest part of a scientifically plausible film - there are hundreds of Kubrickesque touches, which make it a solidly speculative view of near future space flight - graffiti on the walls of Mars base, signposts on the lunar surface and having to purchase an extra blanket from the stewardess while on the trip to the moon. Pitt spends too much time just staring off camera in reverie and thought, in clearly narcissitic fashion (as he co-directs the film) as he nears the finale, but is effortlessly out-acted by Tommy Lee Jones in his brief appearances as the wayward antagonist. If you enjoyed The Martian, Life or 2001, then Ad Astra is for you - just fast forward Pitts macho gurning episodes and cut to the action, as they are pretty arduous!