Ad Astra
1 Oscar Nominations
Rent/Purchase
The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown.
What critics thought
Critics were broadly won over by Ad Astra's austere beauty and Brad Pitt's internalized performance, placing it in the tradition of cerebral space films like Solaris and 2001. The professional consensus skews strongly favorable, but audience reaction was noticeably cooler — the gap between what critics valued (restraint, interiority, visual poetry) and what general viewers wanted (momentum, emotional payoff) is real and worth knowing going in. The script's coherence and the film's emotional distance were the main fault lines even among those who admired it.
“In the hands of director and co-writer James Gray, Ad Astra is one of the most beautiful films of the year, even when it makes little sense and even when Brad Pitt's performance veers between one of his all-time best and one of his all-time not-best.”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
“Ad Astra is one of the most ruminative, withdrawn, and curiously optimistic space epics this side of Solaris. It's also one of the best.”
David Ehrlich·IndieWire
“This is rare, nuanced storytelling, anchored by one of Brad Pitt's career-best performances and remarkable technical elements on every level.”
Brian Tallerico·RogerEbert.com
“This is slow, obtuse film-making with little emotional connection.”
Adam Graham·The Detroit News
Genres
Science Fiction, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorJames Gray
StarringBrad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Liv Tyler, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland
ComposerMax Richter
Ad Astra
1 Oscar Nominations
The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown.
What critics thought
Critics were broadly won over by Ad Astra's austere beauty and Brad Pitt's internalized performance, placing it in the tradition of cerebral space films like Solaris and 2001. The professional consensus skews strongly favorable, but audience reaction was noticeably cooler — the gap between what critics valued (restraint, interiority, visual poetry) and what general viewers wanted (momentum, emotional payoff) is real and worth knowing going in. The script's coherence and the film's emotional distance were the main fault lines even among those who admired it.
“In the hands of director and co-writer James Gray, Ad Astra is one of the most beautiful films of the year, even when it makes little sense and even when Brad Pitt's performance veers between one of his all-time best and one of his all-time not-best.”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
“Ad Astra is one of the most ruminative, withdrawn, and curiously optimistic space epics this side of Solaris. It's also one of the best.”
David Ehrlich·IndieWire
“This is rare, nuanced storytelling, anchored by one of Brad Pitt's career-best performances and remarkable technical elements on every level.”
Brian Tallerico·RogerEbert.com
“This is slow, obtuse film-making with little emotional connection.”
Adam Graham·The Detroit News
Genres
Science Fiction, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorJames Gray
StarringBrad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Liv Tyler, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland
ComposerMax Richter
Rent/Purchase