Ad Astra Blu-ray Review
“Ad Astra” seems unsure of itself.
Directed and co-written by James Gray, “Ad Astra” is an original sci-fi film that revolves around a U.S. Space Command Major (Roy McBride). Roy is the son of a world famous astronaut (H. Clifford McBride) who has been missing for 16 years after working on a project dubbed The Lima Project.. Now, 26 years after the project was created, it seems The Lima Project is actually causing life threatening issues across the galaxy. Roy embarks on a mission across space to terminate the project and potentially find his father at the same time.
While it deserves points for originality, “Ad Astra” is a mixed bag. The Ethan Gross and James Gray script seems unsure of what it wants to be. Is this a heady “2001: A Space Odyssey” esque sci-fi film or is this an epic visual spectacle about a father and son? It tries to be both and therein lies the problem. A good portion of the story is a “First Man” esque introspective space exploration adventure (only not based on real events obviously), but scattered about are absurd action sequences involving a fall to Earth, an asteroid ride, moon pirates, animals, etc. Ultimately, these action sequences feel a bit out of place and don’t jive with the rest of the story being told. They feel like tacked on sequences or studio notes to liven the movie up.
Another issue with the script is with the storytelling itself. Between the voice over narration (which spells everything out), the leaps in logic (see the aforementioned action scenes), forced plot points (the Ruth Negga character), and some truly odd moments (the lack of security everywhere and the Cepheus hijack), “Ad Astra” is nothing if not clumsy. Sure, it’s well paced, visually stunning, atmospheric and engaging from start to finish, but that can only carry you so far. The movie needed something more nuanced, logical, and subtle than what we got.
In terms of the cast, this is the Brad Pitt show. The actor has had himself quite a year between this and his award worthy turn in “Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood.” Truth be told, he really carries the movie and gives a quiet, layered performance as Roy.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? From the moon dust to the shuttle interior, this is a dazzling transfer.
Audio Track: 7.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The score, sound FX, and dialogue sound great.
Extras:
* Digital copy
* Fox trailers and the theatrical and IMAX trailers for “Ad Astra.”
* 2 deleted scenes with optional commentary by James Gray
* “To The Stars”- A featurette about how the story and characters.
* “A Man Named Roy”- The cast and crew talk about Brad Pitt while Pitt talks about his character.
* “The Crew Of The Cepheus”- An extra about the cast members talking about their Cepheus crew member characters.
* “The Art Of Ad Astra”- The production design is the focus of this extra
* “Reach For The Stars”- Some of the science and technical aspects of “Ad Astra” are covered here.
* A thoughtful solo commentary by director and co-writer James Gray
December 17, 2019 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Ad Astra Blu-ray Review, Ad Astra Movie, Bradd Pitt, Sci-fi
No comments yet.
About DVD Corner
DVDCorner.net’s blog contains reviews of the latest DVD, 4K and Blu-ray discs, disc news, as well as reviews of other media items such as graphic novels, books, board/card games, and more. DVDCorner has been around for nearly 17 years now and this is our latest evolution. We are not affiliated with any other website that contains DVDCorner in its title nor do we sell DVDs or Blu-rays. We only review titles sent to us from different studios. Thanks for dropping by from all of us at DVDCorner.net.
Share This Blog
Blogroll
Pages
Reviews
DVDCorner’s Archives
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
Meta
-
11th Doctor Academy Awards Action Movie Alfred Hitchcock Animated Film animation Arrow Academy Arrow Video Batman Bill Corbett blu-ray Bruce Willis Chewbacca Christmas Movie Classic Movie Comedy Criterion Collection Darth Vader David Tennant DC Animated Films DC Comics Disney Doctor Who documentary Film Movement Film Noir Funimation Goku Han Solo Hayao Miyazaki HBO Horror Film Horror Movie IDW IDW Comics IDW Publishing Joel Hodgson Jon Pertwee Justice League Kevin Murphy Lando Marvel Matt Smith Mike Nelson musical Mystery Science Theater 3000 Netflix Nicolas Cage Oscars Pixar Rey Rifftrax Robin Sci-fi Scream Factory Shout! Factory Star Trek: Discovery Star Wars Star Wars- The Clone Wars Star Wars: The Last Jedi Star Wars Book Star Wars Books Star Wars Comic Book Star Wars Rebels Stephen King Studio Ghibli Superman The Flash The Joker Tom Baker Viz Media Warner Archive Western Film Wonder Woman Zombies
Leave a Reply