Ad Astra
6.583%40%6.1
Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.
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- macaronzJuly 4, 2026Ad Astra is a deeply atmospheric, philosophical space odyssey. It trades the high energy action of typical sci-fi for a quiet, introspective journey, almost like Apocalypse Now set in outer space. A stunning, lonely journey through the cosmos. 🧑🚀🚀 Brad Pitt is fantastic in this, carrying the quiet weight of the film effortlessly. The cinematography is outstanding, particularly during the stunning moon sequences, which are brilliantly shot and highly memorable. Honestly, this might be the first movie I've seen that actually shows human life and bases spread out across multiple planets all in one film. It makes the world building feel incredibly realistic and vast.
- Dan S TurpinFebruary 23, 2025Latin phrase meaning "to the stars," per philosopher SENECA. Ad Astra (2019) is not about space exploration in the traditional sense. It is a journey inward, a meditation on isolation, fathers and sons, and the emotional distance that can feel as vast as the solar system. Brad Pitt plays Major Roy McBride, an astronaut whose pulse never rises, no matter the crisis. His father, Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), was a legendary explorer who vanished years ago on a mission to Neptune. Now, Roy is sent to find him after mysterious energy pulses threaten Earth. But this is not a rescue mission—it is a confrontation with the past, with a man Roy has spent his life trying to understand. Director James Gray presents space as silent and indifferent. The Moon is corporate and violent. Mars is cold and empty. Every step of Roy’s journey brings him farther from human connection, even as he searches for the one person who shaped his life the most. The film’s most gripping moments—like a pirate attack on the Moon or a distress call from a derelict ship—are not about action but survival in an unforgiving void. Pitt gives a quiet, restrained performance, his emotions buried beneath routine and discipline. His voiceovers are sparse, revealing a man who has spent his life running from his own feelings. When he finally reaches his father, there is no grand revelation, only a painful understanding: Clifford chose the stars over everything else, and Roy has been following the same path. The film’s resolution is not about saving Earth or even saving Clifford. It is about Roy realizing that he must return, that life is not found in the endless void but in the connections he has long ignored. Ad Astra is not a conventional sci-fi film. It is slow, introspective, and deeply human. It lingers not in spectacle but in silence, in the spaces between words, in the quiet grief of a man coming to terms with who he is. It is less about reaching the stars and more about understanding why we seek them in the first place.
- PhysicalMedia4LifeMay 22, 2026The best way to sum up "Ad Astra" is that its a flawed masterpiece!!! While the whole build up and the whole journey that "Roy" goes on to find his father was very engaging & suspenseful; in the sense that the further and further away from earth he goes, the more dangerous it gets. That really makes us feel as the viewer watching, feel like we're right there with him on his dangerous mission. I also like how they film it in a way where "Roy" finds & discovers a lot about himself, while he's travelling through space. His whole character was getting more & more developed as the film went on, which is one of "Ad Astra's" biggest strengths. And Brad Pitt gives a stoic, convincing and a very grounded performance here. He 💯 should have had an Oscar-Nomination. The cinematography is also Oscar-Nomination calibre, alongside the stunning visuals. And the score as minimal as it is, is used its very haunting and matches the whole narrative & tone of the movie as well. And I thought how they used long drawn out silence making us feel that sense of isolation, vulnerability & danger from Roy's perspective was very well done & executed. When you use also no music and just total silence at the right moments, it can be equally as effective at the same time and they merge the two seamlessly & effectively. However I do have one major issue with "Ad Astra" which is why I gave it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating instead of a 5 Star Rating and that's because while I totally got the whole message of it, Roy's character arc and ultimately what it all meant; the problem however is that the payoff is very underwhelming and disappointing to a degree, they put so much into the build up and when "Roy" finally reaches his destination & father the whole motivation of why is father was stuck out there wasn't strong enough; in terms of complimenting and getting that pay off to what was a very tense, suspenseful and a strong build up. And "Tommy Lee Jones's" character was way underdeveloped as well. It felt like that there was something missing in that final act, I can't quite put my finger on what but there was something missing. Ultimately "Ad Astra"was a film that shoots for the stars and promises so much and it does right up until the last act; this is one of those films that bit a lot more off than it could chew, but still a very well done and competently made film that has so much going for it. It's just a damn shame that they couldn't quite stick the landing on it.
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Ad Astra was released on September 18, 2019.
Ad Astra was directed by James Gray.
Ad Astra has a runtime of 2h 3m.
Ad Astra was produced by James Gray, Brad Pitt, Anthony Katagas, Rodrigo Teixeira, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Arnon Milchan.
Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.
The key characters in Ad Astra are Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), Eve (Liv Tyler).
Ad Astra is rated PG-13.
Ad Astra is a Science Fiction, Drama, Adventure film.
Ad Astra has an audience rating of 4 out of 10.
Ad Astra had a budget of $87.5M.
Ad Astra has made $127.5M at the box office.