Ad Astra reviewed by Mark Kermode
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- čas přidán 19. 09. 2019
- Mark Kermode reviews Ad Astra. Astronaut Roy McBride travels across the solar system to find out what happened to his father, who disappeared 30 years earlier on a doomed expedition.
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Agree with Mark's review. Got the Hearts of Darkness and Solaris vibe. Simply, the writing wasn't up to the ambition of what the movie wanted to achieve. Great effects, music and sound design, but the script, story and oddball pacing were a letdown therefore the movie didn't deliver the emotional and enlightened impact the ending strived to create. 6/10
I'd add on Pitt's acting to that list.
@@vvvvgggg his acting was great
@@Godzilla370 If he was going for autistic, yes. If not, then no...
@@austridge31 he is emotionally repressed
@@Godzilla370 All the characters in this awful film seem to be. Nobody speaks normally. Lol
Absolutely loved it. And I may be in the minority but I was surprised at how fast the runtime went and at the amount of masterfully crafted suspenseful set pieces. I was engaged from beginning to start, was moved and thought the visuals and score were brilliant as was Pitt. He is having a great year.
I loved it as well I like Kermode but he is overlooking Pitts performance
Everybody in my theatre was complaining about it being a waste of time, boring, etc. I loved this film beginning to end. The underlying themes about father and son relationships, what it means to be human, and what is truly important for the human soul, really felt quite impactful to me. Visuals were absolutely stunning and I was blown away by Pitts melancholic performance
Yeah, basically it was "The Tree of Life" thinly disguised as "Apocalypse Now!" - but in space. A nice remix.
It was beautifully shot. I particularly enjoyed seeing Neptune. However, the space physics shown in the movie are so wrong, that I can't enjoy this movie.
@@sophocles8761 I adored it too. My fave space movie now - ahead of Solaris and 2001. The action pieces worked well and helped give peaks to help us appreciate the slower burn stuff. The director' previous film Lost City of Z was absolutely superb too!
So it's not about a satellite dish salesman from the early nineties?
you're thinking of Astra Ad. Equally existential tho.
wow - that was a blast from the past. I love it
It's a movie that's very internal and character-driven, but the changes in Roy and the subtleties in Pitt's acting was wonderful. The themes are consistent, the character motivations are believable, and the ending is quite touching. I'm very satisfied with the movie, but it's not a crowd-pleaser. It's not a typical space movie, that's for sure.
Perfectly put. I was incredibly moved by the film's themes to do with humanity, isolation, love, reconciliation and coming to terms with one's past and place in the universe. Probably my favourite performance by Brad Pitt. Very understated yet full of pathos.
Most distracting part for me was that that one guy was not Fred Armisen.
so it wasn`t just me :D
oh my god, this!
Thought exactly the same thing.
So glad other people thought this, I genuinely had to imdb it hahahaha.
Honestly how dare that guy not be Fred Armisen. The nerve..
Wow, Mark Kermode is a brilliant reviewer of films. He got this spot on, for me. It is a film that has something for everyone. I mean that in a good and bad way but, it is very watchable with a few buts. You'd need to be in the mood for it.
Wow...
I thought it was a pretentious attempt to recreate 2001.
It was dreadful and incongruous. Most of the action scenes were utterly superfluous - especially the car chase on the moon.
The dialogue was trite and uninsightful. It was an 80 (at best) minute film stretched to 2 hours.
Surely it’s inspired by Dan Dare’s quest to find his father in Eagle, 9 May to 26 December 1959 (“Terra Nova” and “ Trip to Trouble”).
Saw it yesterday. It was a mix of Apocalypse Now and 2001, but not as good as either.
Kevin Varney my sentiments as well!
You cant do it better than those movies, you will always fall short.
I think it's quite hard to make a film better than either Apocalypse Now and 2001. it's like hearing a guitar band and saying they sound like the Stones and the Beatles but not as good.😀
@@raymondleggs5508 It wasn't even as good as Silent Running.
I did think of Apocalypse Now immediately as well, good call.
I thought it was a very good film that balanced the sci-fi and drama aspects but fell short of greatness. Still, it was better than Interstellar in that it was much better balanced and more realistic
Thanks Mark Kermode for speaking about the Event Horizon influence. True Sci Fi fan : )
This film promised me a mystery that would be resolved at the end of the journey, but having seen it, I still don't get the motivations or the actions that happened there. The whole thing looks and feels great, but the plot feels muddled, events seem to happen mostly for plot convenience, but then turn out not to have any function beyond the moment they happen. It's like a cake that's missing a layer. The bottom one.
Sonic Goo I was thinking the same thing. Why did the dad send the surges to Earth? He just went nuts?
He overcame the fate of becoming like his father. That was the resolution
Too me the film was disjointed with excursions to this and that and by the time son meets father, I just didn't care about the whole thing. 2 Stars I suppose.
Bang on review. This is a masterful review by a master critic. Rarely do I disagree with Mark Kermode. Hence why I never listen to these reviews before going to see a movie.
"Hence why"? What is hence why?
@@TheKamikazenaz If you don't understand what hence why means, you mustn't speak English & therefore wouldn't be worth explaining it to you...
@@vanman757 That's not the only logical explanation for my question though.
I felt so smart when I thought near the end of the movie 'ah, so this is Heart of Darkness' but Kermode says my MA is of no consequence for that realisation for 'you needn't be a scholar' to realise it :(((
At his level the allusion seems to easy. I'd get the allusion from my A Level studies in which HoD featured for 4+ weeks. You probably have a lot more literary incision to offer than Mark, so beat your chest upward bro.
This is the second Ad Astra review that failed to notice both Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland, who starred in this film,
also played astronauts in the 2000 film " Space Cowboys ". Any moment I expected cameo appearances of Clint Eastwood
and James Garner in this film.
Mark is absolutely spot on with this review, especially the "show don't tell" remark. Nonetheless, a very enjoyable film
Yes. Very unsubtle
I don't understand he snuck onto the ship and caused the death of 3 people, yet he faced no jail time when he got back?
@@kiragoe Hes a free mason in the book so that may explain why
I’m going to see it again… we need more big budget films like this!
no...
For a film on this scale 80-100 million dollars isn't that big.
I barely could watch it once
Just saw it today, I thought this film is a great message to the current generation. Without spoiling, an honest reflection of human existence vs ego.
Agree!
I don't consider the movie pretentious at all. The story and messages are about as straightforward as you can get. Plus, the movie wears its influences on its sleeve. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would see it again in a second.
Have to agree.
I enjoyed it as well. The cinematography was excellent especially the Neptune scenes where the colors are perfect. I was also very much caught by surprise when they made the SOS stop to check on the medical frigate and what happens there...I'll see it again. I disagree with the YT host here claiming it's pretentious. That's a film critic cop out and an attempt to appear dialed into some hidden plot theme only he can grasp.
I saw AD ASTRA yesterday and I agree 100% with Mark’s review. The effects and Max Richter’s score are it’s finest points. Good, but this film should have been soooo much better.
I think I know the part Mark is talking about that made him go "NO, really?!" and I agree, that sequence is so out of place and feels like it's only there as an action set piece.
The monkey scene?
The monkey scene right???
I thought for sure it was foreshadowing the conclusion in some way but then it was never alluded to again. Made no sense.
The monkeys, and that ridiculous buggy shootout
The dune buggy chase gave the movie a little bit of world building atleast.
The monkeys? Not so much.
Perfect review, it’s a film that’s great, that’s bad, that’s pretentious, and in the end it’s a film that’s definitely worth seeing, but it’s a little odd
It's better than interstellar
@@Godzilla370 HA. Right. Good one, mate, almost had me
@@readytobebolder its better. Interstellar is too preachy. Conflict between son and absent father Is more interesting than father and daughter bond. Interstellar falls apart in its final act.
@@Godzilla370 it's precisely the final acts that blew me away. I'm sad you didn't enjoy it when for me it was such - such a huge thing. It's what made me start to think about going into filmmaking.
I don't know why father/daughter wouldn't be as compelling as father/son though??? Ad Astra fell short for me because we didn't see their relationship at all. It felt very stiffled.
Also, this movie gets preachy and pretentious too lmfao
@@Godzilla370 oh wait you're a gamer, nevermind lol not gonna discuss with you
The main thought I had after seeing the movie was: What would it have been like without the voice over of the inner monologue? I think that one change might have made it better.
Same. It felt unneccesary and bare on insight so what was the point? Just to fill the silence at times because the movie couldn't grab us otherwise?
Narration rarely works just because. It needs a real purpose. This didn't have one other than the fact the movie couldn't articulate things well enough without it.
It seems like James Grey is one of those filmmakers who is always on the verge of creating something brilliant but never quite makes it.
Spot-on observation! I've concluded exactly the same thing after seeing his last three films. Sad, because I believe he is earnest in his intent.
I feel the same way about Scott Cooper (Out of the Furnace, Hostiles).
...if you believe this particular review.
we own the night it's brilliant
no
Love event horizon... Always have. That it was panned at release shows how little you can trust critics and popular opinion.
It's a shame we'll never get to see the uncut version :(
@@travisspazz1624 - fair point. But no, I never saw venom... It looked painfully bad.
gets a bit too gory, I prefer sunshine
It wasn't a "great" movie imo but it was a great midnight movie.
SALVE TIBI!
it was panned because it was pretty shitty. yeah it had a intriguing plot and looked cool. But it was basically resident evil in space. lets not pretend it was Alien.
"pulling in two different directions" is a succinct description. many moments were utterly immersive and captivating, yet there were a number of others that felt somewhat ridiculous and unintentionally comedic...
Kermode's replaced his mic with a tin can
He's in Alsace so on the phone.
He is in space
@@peace4myheart Searching for his rock-star movie critic father, Kermode Senior??? (fingers crossed)
@@JtheArgonaut Saw the movie last night. It was terrible. A few people in the back of me were snoring. A lady came out of the theater and straight up said it was BAADD!!! She was right.
Thank you for not saying ''potato'' . Good man .
The Shining and Carpenter’s The Thing were also panned when they first came out and now are some of the most influential films of Horror just like Event Horizon is now, it stays with you just at the edge of space of Neptune’s orbit
Yes, but I remember how the critics were falling over themselves to tell everyone how Star Wars VIII was "brilliant, wonderful". That movie is now recognised as being so bad it falls into "Plan 9 from Outer Space" territory. Ad Astra isn't as bad as that (mainly due to Brad Pitt) but it will soon be forgotten.
Absolutely spot on review. Just got back from seeing this and Mr Kermode succinctly and expertly encapsulates the good and the bad of this movie.
I just downloaded the 1080 and watched a quick clip to check the copy, looks like an amazing movie with some stunning visuals
Delete. Movie is boring garbage
Just watched it premiere free to air on Ch4 - it flew by so fast I was wondering what the payoff was going to be. It was sooo close to a realistic depiction with a few minor tweaks but no, they couldn't resist jump the shark, wtf action set pieces that took you out of it (like the infamous one in the Martian).
The Astronauts astronaut John Young summed up the emotional impact of space travel along the lines of: you've got bigger problems if it requires a journey to a lifeless ball of rock to find God.
Event Horizon blew me away when I watched it at the cinema! Fantastic movie... "where were going... You won't need eyes to see"... 🤓
We are going home.The smartest captain in movie history.
Mark is spot on with this review!
I'm going to see it in Cineworld IMAX next week and looking forward to it. It seems to be aiming in the same direction of Interstellar: using the canvas of the cosmos to explore the recesses of the heart. Hopefully this'll do a better job.
PS if someone told me a few years ago Brad Pitt was going to be in a Tarantino movie and a space epic in one year I never would've believe it. Pitt is back baby!
Thank you Simon for stating that about Lost City Of Z! 👏🏼
I feel like the action stuff was there for the trailers. Get people in seats for a great film they might not know they'd enjoy
Kermode had me sold when he said 'Hearts of Darkness in Space'. 'It owes a debt to Event Horizon' just sealed the deal. I'm certain it'll have it's flaws, but it should still be memorable
Thank you! You said, Kermode! I felt the same way. It felt like it wanted to be two different films.
This movie was such a trip to watch in isolation
Not seen the film, but even the trailer had me scratching my head with the mix of deep soul-searching moments intercut with action sequences that look like a cross between MoonRaker and Armageddon. Mad props to Kermode for mentioning Event Horizon - such a great movie.
I was struggling to voice what it was that I didn't enjoy about the film but I think Mark really hit the nail on the head.
The films doesn't look like it's pulling "in two different directions" just because there is a shoot out, that's just nothing more than violence, the film is about space colonialism, it goes hand in had with the story. To even say "in two different directions" and that it "serves two masters" just because of that one scene of exchange of fire, means you haven seen enough James Gray crime movies that put him in the map; We Own the Night, The Yards, Little Odessa.
I went to see it on IMAX monday after going to the BFI Prop Store exhibit, I do not feel this movie was in two directions of two masters, Kermode got this way off. Space pirates and over commercialized space is dead on accurate of what would likely happen! I even spotted Virgin on the moon, I wonder if Virgin provided free tech advice for being featured.
He had to do something which resulted in the shootout, self defence is only raw nature to survive.
I guess the colonialism theme is, not so much at odds, but different to the main theme of abandonment and seeking one's father's approval.
I didn't mind the lunar shootout but when he arrived on the moon/shopping mall and he said the nice, if not cliche, line of "we created what we were escaping in the first place" (or words to that effect) it did seem a little out of place. Even if he did qualify it by saying his father would have hated it...
For the record, I disagree with the pulling in two directions opinion but I do get where Mark's coming from.
@@Luke-cz9tm Then that same argument can be used to Apocalypse Now and basically many films. Films are about more than one thing. There is such a thing as scenes in between. It would be boring if the film would just about an astronaut seeking his daddy. Think of how dull it would be if it was just about interiors of the space ship going from point a and b and Pitt's narration of his papa.
Also High-Life was a terrible film.
@@_GarethRossUK I agree. The fact that Kermode sees the humor in that is telling.
@@augustomontes8202 Films do of course have wider themes but they're almost always more effective when they relate to the central flaw/conflict of the protagonist.
A Quiet Place for example has themes of survival, family and alien invasion. However the main theme of a family unable to communicate is reinforced by the wider theme of alien invaders who happen to hunt by sound, thus rendering the family silent and compounding their communication problems.
I agree it's not wrong of Ad Astra to address the certain commercialisation of space, but it didnt seem to relate to the personal father issues of the protagonist and therefore could feel a little "tacked on" for some viewers.
This review perfectly summed up my feelings.
The psychological tests didn't measure bravery - astronauts are freaking out all around Brad Pitt during this movie.
When I saw the car chase shoot out in space bit on the trailer I immediately had my doubts about this.
I thought it was incredible - one of my favourite films ever.
no
NO
I wouldn't personally go that far, but it is one of the best of 2019 without a doubt. A brilliant film.
@@bRETTfAVREatgbnyjmni Yes!
@@samcooke343 What did you like about it?
I always find homage to heart of darkness / apocalypse now really exciting ... Gonna watch this1! Crazy space stuff too? Hoo yah!
I liked the concept of individuals using space as a means of escape. Problem being, humans were hardwired to be social. Hence, a fictional space hero lost his mind and until there was something threatening Earth; US military didn’t care much that he murdered his crew. Side note: there are a lot of sloppy d-bags in the Space program. The look is gorgeous. I did like the idea that space is so long and life draining.
Lucy in the Sky mirrors the first two sentences of your concept - just with a completely different plot. Would make a good double feature with Ad Astra.
Kermode seems to have forgotten the underrated 2010 as a precursor to the "Space ship seeking out lost space ship" plot.
@cygil1 No he hasn't, there's no similarity. Event Horizon and this film are seeking a space ship that has been written into the plot. 2010 was a sequel. Big difference.
loved Ad astra. brad's most nuanced role.
This review was spot on. Put into words pretty much what I felt about Ad Astra.
Read a lot of bad reviews about this but went in with low expectations and I enjoyed it.
Exactly my thought when I came out of the theatre on Friday. Instead of the silly action scenes the film should have focused on the Lima project and what his father was trying to achieve, and what he actually found out there. But it brushes over that in favor of space pirates, and other distractions. And there was indeed a very silly sequence towards the end that made me question the sanity of all the people that were saying this was one of the most realistic depictions of space travel on film. It absolutely is not. All in all it was a good time, but it does not reach the heights it (and a lot of critics apparently) thinks it does.
But why? It is clearly stated in the movie that hé found nothing. It was áll for nothing because we are alone and only have ourselves. That was the message.
@@ExploderMaster18 It was more an afterthought than a message in my experience. They could've delved deeper into what they were looking for, where they were looking (only in our solar system? out in deep space? who knows, the movie doesn't tell us). A message like that is pretty hollow in my opinion if the central question isn't properly explained. Focus on that instead of space baboons and you have a true masterpiece. That was my opinion anyway...
An accurate review from an individuals perspective. However I didn’t find those action sequences particularly off putting, but rather they offered a little modulation in the overall tone of the film. A popcorn wrinkle in its otherwise austere presentation.
I’d like to see a version without the narration. Much like Blade Runner, I wonder if it was felt they needed to spell everything out to a less intuitive audience. But, again, it didn’t necessarily detract from the experience.
It was an excellent movie; one of the years best.
Certainly better than Event Horizon... Good lord, how that started off promisingly and degenerated into B grade piffle.
Sad thing is that this is a utterly fantastic effect laden film in dire need of a decent story - all the characters act in such a robotic fashion that it made you wonder why bother sending people off into space if there is no wonder or enjoyment portrayed by anyone in the film - it was a wasted oppurtunity.
Mmmmm, don't really think you have the gyst of how the characters are supposed to be mate
I saw it and the CGI was very good. The Physics were a little wishful. The main part of the movie was about Father/Son issues. It is odd that was missed.
Couldn't agree more with this review - jaw-dropping beauty coupled with
narrative incongruity. The Kurtz in outer space is self apparent but
Kermode is right to compare it to the superior Event Horizon (where is
this film available now and why isn't it a classic?). perhaps a bit more
commentary on Brad Pitt's performance which is sublime and alongside
Once Upon a Time... is surely a good year for an actor who in Seven two
decades ago signaled he is a contender. the briefing scene is a
masterclass of eye movement as profound acting as art form. and the
procedural sequences are stunning. a very interesting failure
I think the theme was more a modernist philosophical than psychological. Of course, psychological well-being features in this film but it's always in a reductionist way and I think that’s the real focus of the film. The protagonist is constantly reporting on his mental state but to automated voice, and only ever to gauge if he's fit to serve his role. The other astronauts all dutifully take their drugs and are totally dependent on the system to function. His emotional investment in the mission is the reason he is approached for the mission, but it is that very emotional investment which disqualifies him from seeing it through once he has fulfilled his function. This film is about the yearning for meaning. The humans and their inner lives in this world are reduced to their physicality and function*, and the one character who rebels against this seeks meaning by looking for a connection which ironically involves cutting himself off from humanity. Then the tragic revelation comes with the discovery that we truly are alone. The heavens are doubly silent. The occasional explicit expression of religious faith feels jarring which emphasizes the tension at the heart of this film. The ending isn't a mawkish message of finding meaning in those you love, because that's an absurd proposition in world which persists with a reductionist view of the subjective experience. It's to the films credit how unsatisfying it ends.
* I didn't want to include any detailed examples which illustrate this point in fear of spoiling the film.
Brilliant comment.
Just come out of the cinema having just watched this. I agree with everything said here but would also add there is a somewhat cheeky nod to the great film Dark Star...
Yeah, but Dark Star was meant to be funny:-)
I sense a lot of Blade Runner 2049 and The Shining in it too.
Casey Smith The Shining??? In what way?
@@lfc7763 I felt a similar tone to The Shining during the space chimp scene.
@@PsychoticSmith Sure sure on the lighting and cinematography on Mars.
Definitely not flawless or as good as Lost City of Z but still a genuinely great film in my opinion, can't wait to see James Gray's next film.
@@HeyRileyLemon I do want to watch Ad Astra again at some point but the fact I really love Lost City of Z and this film means that I'm now excited for James Gray's next film whatever it is just because of his involvement.
This movie was awful, comically bad. Nothing makes any sense. This movie will end up becoming a drinking game, where you take a shot everytime Space Jesus Brad Pitt cries. This movie won’t date well.
FCL M I get why you’d think that after watching Pacific Rim but he’s incredible in Lost City of Z. Complete transformation.
Totally agree. The moon and rescue mission scenes felt totally shoehorned in, like they really did want to do Apocalypse Now in space. But I can see why they did that, it helped show the constant threat of mission failure, plus a movie set in a spaceship all the way to Neptune would be incredibly dull.
When Mark started talking about this film my immediate thought was sounds like Event Horizon, and then he said it.
Spot on, Mark!
I love the film!
high meditations on the human condition are always going to be compared to Solaris (Tarkovsky) and I also share Kermodes unease, in that the sopradic actions scenes jar the philosophic considerations the movie seeks to chart. In the end these feel like an aftertought
I love the Lunar, Martian and Neptunian lighting as well as the dreamy music. Space exploration feels risky and frought with danger despite increased investment.
Never get out of the boat.
Its a mixture of Gravity, interstellar and Arrival but its beneath all of them
Truth!
Far, far, far beneath them.
It is rather an odd mixture of "Apocalypse Now!", "Equilibrium", "Gravity", and "The Tree of Life".
Arrival was rubbish
Ad Astra had the most reasonable do or die plot I've seen in years. The guy put everything on the table to find out what his dad was about and save the entire solar system and critics are whining about scenes that were basically acceptable filler - want to see worse - watch Silent Running.
When the results are disclosed to the son, its truly mindblowing.
Sunshine by Danny Boyle ( I believe it's spelled) is an amazing film as well.
Event Horizen is one of my favorite movies of all time. Absolutely amazing film.
Do you mean Danny Boyle?
@@AugmentedRealityImages Yes I do! Thank you for the correction!
Loved it!
The space pirates scene was ridiculous as was the monkey scene. Both had me rolling my eyes. Also, this felt like it was leading to something, then the ending was just a big nope!
I honestly thought this movie paid its debts to 'Moby Dick' and the first chapter of Krzysztof Kieślowski's 'Dekalog' - "No other Gods before me".
However, these other references aren't out of left field. I just felt like Mark maybe missed the thematic target(s) of the story.
Also, the film is very well shot, cast, and scripted. It's one of my favorite movies of the year.
Yes completely agree. While I agree that it pretty obviously owes a debt to heart of darkness structurally, and of course isolation and dissilusion are at play here, I don't think this is a psychological piece.
I've already made the following comment but after reading your comment i thought i'd include it in a reply.
I think the theme was more a modernist philosophical than psychological. Of course, psychological well-being features in this film but it's always in a reductionist way and I think that’s the real focus of the film. The protagonist is constantly reporting on his mental state but to automated voice, and only ever to gauge if he's fit to serve his role. The other astronauts all dutifully take their drugs and are totally dependent on the system to function. His emotional investment in the mission is the reason he is approached for the mission, but it is that very emotional investment which disqualifies him from seeing it through once he has fulfilled his function*. This film is about the yearning for meaning. The humans and their inner lives in this world are reduced to their physicality and function, and the one character who rebels against this seeks meaning by looking for a connection which ironically involves cutting himself off from humanity. Then the tragic revelation comes with the discovery that we truly are alone. The heavens are doubly silent. The occasional explicit expression of religious faith feels jarring which emphasizes the tension at the heart of this film. The ending isn't a mawkish message of finding meaning in those you love, because that's an absurd proposition in world which persists with a reductionist view of the subjective experience. It's to the films credit how unsatisfying it ends.
* I didn't want to include any detailed examples which illustrate this point in fear of spoiling the film.
Script is weak. It is. I wanted to like this very much but i was left wanting more.
@@egodeosum Great comment. 👏🏼👏🏻
Did anyone notice that Brad and Tommy were never in the same shot?
It was always the side of his helmet etc, but it looks to me their scenes were shot separately.
Maybe I’m crazy but there were rumours during shooting that they didn’t see eye to eye.
"...explaining it to me every step of the way." That very much explains 99% of the big-budget Hollywood studio films.
I really don't want films, and particularly science fiction films to explain to me, what I am supposed to see or worse yet, how I am supposed to feel about a particular moment. Let me as a viewer make up my own mind about it.
I need to rewatch "Event Horizon", as after previous viewings, it always felt like a "great film, turned into a monster hunt" kind.
I totally agree with Mark’s review. There is too much narrative going on & I think it spoils the movie a bit. Also when I was watching it, the first movie that sprung to my mind was Event Horizon as well.
The director's cut will be epic.
It build and builds to what feels like is going to be an epic, devastating conclusion then bottles it and doesn't know how to end.
Totally agree, could have done without the voice over in particular. Think there was a great film left on the cutting room floor
Maybe.... but no.
Yes good points that you mentioned, yet the movie is really great
I thought the movie WAS a masterpiece. So disappointed Mark didn’t :(
It IS a masterpiece imo. It isn’t flawless sure, but what it aimed for, it did perfectly
YOU WOULD MOHAMMAD BAHAHAHAHA
Mohammad Nass How come the US Government sends their two leading astronauts, on an extremely important and top secret mission, to the Moon on a commercial flight??? Where the stewardess charges Pitt's character 125 dollars for a blanket???... And while there, Pitt has to shoot at the attacking pirates himself, as the Government hasn't provided him him with nearly enough armed protection??? Stupid.
Why was the father shooting death Ray's at the earth? Why wasn't Brad pitt arrested for killing those poor three astronauts who were just going about their jobs?
LFC 77 to be fair he went on a commercial flight because they didn’t want to be seen as in a panic, and the 125 dollars was to highlight the world of hyperinflation that we live in eg. everyday items are becoming steadily more expensive- Freddo chocolate bar in the uk used to cost 15p but now costs 80p
Things I liked about this film: Acting.
Things I didn't like about this film: Almast everything about its science.
Review seems to completely miss the main theme of the movie. Kermode seems disappointed that the movie is not the one he wanted or expected but speaks little on what it actually was
Yup
I was BORED to bits trying to watch this movie..i gave up and bailed on it and watched minder on youtube.
Him wearing camouflage on the moon was SILLY....who exactly thought that was a good idea!
James Gray's Spacepocalypse Now
Uneventful Horizon.
Hilary Celery boom tish!
Boom
NICE!
Can someone please explain to me why every near-future scifi movie has to rip off Event Horizon? Has there ever been a movie more widely disliked that was more thoroughly pillaged?
Hilarious Celery
(MILD SPOILERS)
This film was tonally so bizarre. The technobabble in the clip about antimatter, along with some other sequences and dialogue, seems to be from a much worse film. The voiceovers and psych evals were a really poor choice IMO, especially considering the final one edges into serious wall-decal territory. I read a review of an earlier script draft and it looks as though they replaced Eva Green's ex-wife character with the voiceovers, since she had basically nothing to do in the early drafts other than be dead weight. I also think the father-son relationship isn't quite developed enough for the film to take it as seriously as it does.
I enjoyed the film - my boyfriend disliked it much more than I did - but would much rather have watched a film about the father's story, since he seems to be a far more interesting character.
I'm just really pleased that my opinion of the movie largely matches up with Kermode's... feels like I'm doing something right!
You're spot on! I was apathetic to his interactions with his father. The directors cut will probably be much better than this. It's a expensive "knock off" of a whole bunch of better movies.
@@TheAjdam The father character himself is pretty interesting though.
Also why did Brad Pitt's character need to go to Mars to deliver the message anyway, other than Plot? Just send an email with an mp3 attachment! (Basically what I'm saying is this film was way less hard sci-fi than it wanted to be)
@@isabellamorris7902 it didn't know what it wanted to be. Horror style sci-fi, emotive sci-fi, proper sciency sci-fi. It tried all and didn't really excel at any. I didn't dislike it, it's weird. Maybe the directors cut will be better
@@isabellamorris7902 yes Mars was just a movie gimmick. Total Recall style
Just cutting the monkey and moon pirate scenes would have made it much better.
Mark is spot on about Event Horizon. Amazing film.
Mark nailed it. I was thinking the same thing while viewing. This is a space age Apocalypse Now. Good straightforward, beautifully shot film yet lacking any real profundity.
That clip was straight out of Apocalypse now where Charlie (edit: Martin) Sheen sits down to hear about Kurtz
Charlie Sheen?
@@alanmckenna5608 That was the sequel, Apocalypse Later
Alan McKenna oops of course his father Martin
Yep, Martin .. apologies, but ‘Redux’ is possibly my favorite version of that film. That clip seem to bring back memories of watching the film.
58 years old and this is only the 2nd film I've ever walked out of. The moment I walked came shortly after the blar attacked the blar on the Norwegian space station. I don't know why Im worried about spoilers though because this film is spoilt enough. It's utter nonsense!!
For me, the pace, look and sound of A D Astra was absolutely Solaris and just as clinical! I really don't see the Event Horizon connection other than the lost ship... Event Horizon is a proper dirty horror and one of the most original. 🏆
A 56-year-old Brad Pitt goes looking for his father Tommy Lee Jones (73), who disappeared 27 years ago, when Pitt was 29 and Jones 46 - and Donald Sutherland (84) tells Pitt about the time shortly before his father left when he was running around in the garden all the time. So the script was written with a ten-year-old (or younger) boy in mind, who goes on a search for his father 27 years later, when he is 37. His father might then have been in his late 20s. Obviously they forget about the set-up, cast some great names and made the story thus completely unbelievable.
I got the vibe of Event Horizon from the Trailer, for Ad Astra.
Based on the original ZX Spectrum game , in which Brad Pitt play a pilot who just flies up and down for 2 hours avoiding dodgy graphics from 1984
Mark Kermode - telling you how you should feel about films in ways you never thought of.
Oh *thank god* it wasn’t just me! I saw this on its opening day (Wednesday afternoon, a *massive* audience of 3, me included!), not knowing an awful lot about it (which I thought would be a *good* thing), after I unexpectedly had some time free. [I *had* intended to see ‘It Chapter 2’, but the screening time didn’t quite fit...probably a good thing, due to my rampant Coulrophobia!]
When asked if it was any good, later by my dad, I honestly said - for the first time in my life - “I don’t know!” I *think* it was a fairly good film, several online reviews say its a masterpiece, & *yet* ...? I don’t know...Something just didn’t connect for me. It was either *brilliant,* & I’m not intelligent enough to have have appreciated it to the fullest extent - *entirely* possible! - or maybe it *isn’t as smart* as the multi-layered, sci-fi, psycho-drama it would like to be.
I think the first major negative for me was that I couldn’t help but think of the largely disparaged cut of ‘Blade Runner’ released with the Harrison Ford narration - so the frequent Brad Pitt voiceover was initially a bit of a hurdle; however, for plot reasons (don’t want to give away any spoilers!) I feel it was necessary (obviously his character *had* to played fairly emotionless, on the surface anyway), but it was also slightly claustrophobic, being trapped inside one person’s head for what felt like the entire run time, which may very well have been intentional. It was definitely an increasingly tense, almost paranoia-inducing feeling, to mirror Pitt’s, so if that’s what they were going for, I guess they delivered!
I actually might possibly appreciate it more on a second viewing, knowing where it’s going, story-wise. Certainly I’m glad I’ve seen it, & on a big screen - it is often visually beautifully composed & brilliantly shot - but there remains for me (after a single viewing, anyway!) a confused feeling of regrettable detachment, & actually a little disappointment on “missing out” on whatever *some* people - especially those stellar reviewers - evidently experienced, leaving me a little jealous!
A mission to explore the possibility of life in our universe that gets to Uranus is the equivalent of popping over to Australia for a bottle of wine, and not even managing to get out of the room.
Promising idea (father conflict, rescuing father from the belly of the whale, blabla, played out in the solar system) but not executed well enough :-(
Liked the first 1/3 of the movie,
SEMI SPOILERS:
When he got to mars I couldn't continue watching the sequence of him hitching a ride onto the spacecraft leaving mars was difficult to believe. Also the movie was depressing for no plot reason as far as I could tell. Dark broody moodiness without bursts of lightness/joy/redemption is just not something I can ever enjoy.
I thought this film was brilliant, a drama with space as the backdrop with a brilliant performance by Brad
But how can a movie be brilliant that totally ignores any real physics in space? It's not meant to be a fantasy movie, it portrais the events as they could happen in the future.
Philipp Müller In what way does it project itself as a movie about future space travel? But importantly is the only metric of a sci-fi movie its realism? Regardless of scientific accuracy a film can still deliver a powerful performance and story.
@@meltingpoint97 But does it project itself as a fantasy movie to you? I perceive this not as a fantasy movie, so therefore I have to assume they aime to set this movie in the realm of realism. Imo wrong space physics don't hurt the movie that much if they are irrelevant to the story and the motivations of the characters. But when the main characters all head out to Neptune to have a better chance to spot alien life, then I can't help myself shaking my head. Obviously it makes no sense to do that because extraterrestrial signals can be just as good received on earth as on Neptune. Neptune is nowhere near the heliosphere, no planet of our solar system is.
Philipp Müller it’s fantasy a prior for it is an imagining. I agree, errors in regards to those aspects are there, but what it does take away from the movie (realism wise) is not enough to make me dislike it or think it’s nullifies it’s brilliance.
@@ApricusInaros It's Science Fiction, not a Jet Propulsion Lab documentary. Science Fiction doesn't have to be the Hard type all the time.
You are presenting a False Choice: today's technical capability or Fantasy.
Those are ends of a Spectrum. Sci Fi can exist anywhere on that spectrum.
Btw Imagine the complaints about boredom, and fake aging etc, if they tried to compress a realistic 18 year voyage into a 2 hour movie. Or the additional "it's boring" reviews, if they went into detail about celestial mechanics.
According to Wikipedia …..Ad astra meaning:
Per aspera ad astra (or, less commonly, ad astra per aspera) is a popular Latin phrase meaning "through hardships to the stars". The phrase is one of the many Latin sayings that use the expression ad astra, meaning "to the stars". Mar 24 2019
Been to see Ad Astra, the new film by Brad Pitt and listened to Mark Kermodes review:
Not sure if I agree with this review...for me its more about seeing what's in front of you and finding the meaning in that, rather than going across the universe to find unicorns and goblins. In terms of the 'action scenes' that go from zen calm to frantic moon buggy chases just about sum up Roy McBrides actions versus the personal feelings he has to keep under control. It's not about space travel, its about who we become if our obsessions get the better of us, and can we learn from it, recover and redeem ourselves.
Granted, it does hark back to the brilliant Event Horizon, but Pit found what he expected to find, disappointment in spades...and that what the viewer is expected to find I think and that's how audiences probably felt. It did however leave me feeling a bit flat, but thoughtful. I think its more than the sum of its parts.
Vauxhall Astra
Hoping for a certain cut in the future without narration, like another film that had quite a few cuts over the decades.