Review: “Ad Astra” Serves Daddy Issues Rather Than Sci-Fi
“Ad Astra” becomes Brad Pitt’s second high profile appearance in movies this year beside Tarantino’s epic “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”. The veteran actor played the role of Roy McBride, an astronaut from the United States of America who was assigned to embark on a dangerous and ultra-secretive mission. No one but him, a senior named Colonel Pruitt (Donald Sutherland), and the highest-ranked personals at SPACECOM who were aware of his journey. He was tasked to relay a message to the outskirt of Planet Neptune which caused various power surges on other planets in the solar system. SPACECOM presumed that the surge was caused by an odd activity caused by Project Lima, a project carried out by the best scientists on earth in order to find an intelligent creature in the solar system. The project was helmed by Roy’s father named H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), a renowned astronaut and an impeccable scientist, but not quite an outstanding husband or father figure in his household. Project Lima was going well until they reached the outskirt of Planet Neptune when the spaceship went out of contact. 
Aware of the possibility that his father might not receive his message or all people involved in Project Lima might all be dead, Roy McBride went through various obstacles with a slight hope that maybe, his father would show compassion and a change of heart towards him that he craved so much since he was a child. The James Gray-directed film is less sci-fi than “Arrival”, less thrilling than “Gravity”, but much more touching and emotionally draining. It managed to immerse us in a pool of emotions we didn’t expect when we first came to the cinema. A strange relationship between a father and a son, and how childhood memories affected one’s decision and character during adulthood was very relevant in our daily lives. Although outer space, rockets, and planets became the background of this film, we felt that the topic was very earth-like. It talked about humans, relationships, and trust rather than science fiction or fantasy. “Ad Astra” might be one of Brad Pitt’s best acting gig in a while as well!
Editor: Novita Widia
