Ad Astra : Beyond Space Travels

Ad Astra has been a hit amongs critics. It has been getting good feedbacks but audiences feel otherwise. I, on the other hand, well I am not that special but I would say, I love it. And I am here to defend it.

I would understand why some people would disagree or feel as if Ad Astra is a SCAM. I mean, the trailer looks amazing, you're expecting a thrilling-dramatize, sci-fi action film but what you really get is a drama film. Ad Astra is almost like a poem to me. With simple words, it means something. Some people would say that it depicts toxic masculinity about the repression of ones feelings and emotional struggles but you have to understand that removing this repression of emotions, especially among men is still a struggle that I feel as if most men still struggles with.

Ad Astra is filled with monologues. A story told mainly by the main character Roy McBride. A decorated astronaut who survived a surge that came from an outer source that could endanger all life on Earth. However, it is more than that. We get a glimpse of the life of Roy, who seems very compose and in control of his life. Everything he does seems calculated. His psychological evaluation, top notch. However, you feel that things are not alright. There are things repressing him from expressing himself.

I love how Ad Astra tricked you into thinking this is a film about space exploration, space travels but in reality, in all its effort to tell you the story of mankind's effort into looking for life in the interstellar, Ad Astra is actually a movie about home. About humans and the world. The contrasting elements of the film gives it an interesting dynamic which I totally love.

Ad Astra is humane. In all of humanity's flaws, it is very humane. It isn't actually heavily reliant on the sci-fi aspects. Because the real story lies in the dramas between Roy and other people around him and the inner struggles he has with him.

Let's talk about Roy!

Roy is such a boring name if you ask me. But anyway, it is what it is. Roy is an interesting character. You are introduced to Roy as a character that is plain almost like an empty board. He is a lonely man, a functioning man who can do things beyond his emotional distress. However, you see his agony and his loneliness. The best thing about Roy is his character developments. Roy's transition into submitting to his emotions as he travels further from Earth is a beautiful thing to witness. Being further from humankind has made him more human than he ever was. I have never been a fan if Brad Pitt because I feel that he is like Tom Cruise. They're always doing action films, which to me made me feel like they don't grow as much as an actor. (Don't attack me for that). But man, Brad Pitt's performance for this film was just AMAZING! He was so great. The emotional depth he gave his character was great because he portrayed a man who wants to be seem as if he's emotionless but he is OBVIOUSLY filled with rage, despair and sadness. No matter how he tries to conceal it, you can read him.

The cinematography for Ad Astra is simply, MAJESTIC. It is so beautiful that it was breathtaking. I found myself in awe of how amazing the cinematographer captured the idea of how the planets looks up-close. So I did some Googling and found out that the cinematographer has had amazing records of works and man, of course it is beautiful. With works like Interstellar and Dunkirk up in his sleeves, it is no wonder that Ad Astra was able to grasp an intensely amazing visual. The usage of colours were quite predominant in this film and my favourite scenes has got to be on Mars. The red hue display was captivating and I felt as if it relates so closely to Roy's character developments. I wish I can capture it but, from where I see it, the colour changes of the cinematography relates closely to the feelings Roy felt throughout the film and gave the scenes more meaning to Roy's story and journey. To me, it was a lovely touch.

AD ASTRA - 5/5