Ad Astra is a science fiction film starring Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones, and has opened to mixed reviews… anyone checking it out? Via Screenrant:
James Gray’s Ad Astra has been widely praised by critics, but general audiences seem unimpressed – what’s going on? Featuring a minimalist performance by Brad Pitt, Ad Astra is an intense sci-fi story in which Pitt’s character, Roy McBride, heads into space to reconnect with the father whom he believed died decades ago (played by Tommy Lee Jones). The film is intense and cerebral, using the trip to space as a metaphor for Roy’s loneliness and isolation, and his unresolved issues with his father leaving him. The resolution is surprising, and hardly fits with traditional Hollywood tropes.
Although there have been a few outliers, in general Ad Astra has been praised by critics. The Washington Post, for example, declared it to be “an astronaut adventure with soul.” Almost all the critics have been impressed with Gray’s technical realism, and have been drawn into the humanist narrative of the central character. General viewers don’t seem to be impressed, however; at time of writing, the film has an Audience Score of just 47 percent on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a “Certified Fresh” score of 83 percent from critics.