Masterpiece Alert: One of the best sci-fi films meets one of the best war films – Film News

In Ad Astra – Towards the Stars, director James Gray takes us to the infinity of space.

Who would have thought that James Gray would make a 100 million dollar science fiction film? The American director often tells disturbing family dramas and dark gangster stories set in and around New York. In 2019, however, he switched genders.

Five years ago, Gray presented the masterful sci-fi adventure Ad Astra at the Venice Film Festival, starring Brad Pitt. Despite good reviews, the production, which had a budget of between 80 and 100 million dollars, was not a success at the cinema. However, you can give the film a second chance on the Star+ streaming platform.

Ad Astra: Brad Pitt gets lost in the darkness of space

In Ad Astra, Brad Pitt takes on the role of astronaut Roy McBride. Since his father, H. Cliffford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), disappeared on the way to Neptune 20 years ago, Roy has no stability in his life. He then decides to undertake the greatest journey of his life: traveling to space, crossing the galaxy and trying to find out what happened to his father.

Until Roy arrives on the distant planet, we follow him on an odyssey that takes him from Earth to the Moon to Mars in thought-provoking but also hauntingly captivating imagery.

Gray doesn’t present Ad Astra as a roaring sci-fi blockbuster, but, as in his previous films, it focuses on the characters’ quiet moments that take us deeper and deeper into their inner lives. A journey into the heart of darkness that uses all the elements of science fiction to illustrate Roy’s hidden loneliness.

Ad Astra combines the sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey with the war film Apocalypse Now

If you’ve ever wondered what the perfect combination of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Apocalypse Now would be like? Ad Astra provides the surprising answer. Once you let yourself be swept away by the film’s hypnotic attraction, you can’t escape. We move deeper and deeper into the darkness.

Ad Astra is anything but a typical conventional blockbuster. It’s no wonder it fell short of expectations at the box office. Based on Box Office Mojo numbers, the film only made $127 million. The Numbers estimates its success at a little more: 135 million dollars.

At first glance, this is in line with the production budget. However, anyone who takes a film to the cinema also needs to invest in marketing. Furthermore, the studio only earns a portion of the film’s revenue and box office revenue obtained in the international market. Therefore, Ad Astra didn’t stand a chance.

*Translation from a partner website of QuandoCinema.

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