Just finished watching Ad Astra.
It was an interesting character study and the science, for the most part seemed pretty solid.
Though, there were a few things that I was kind of uncertain about, and they did leave them vague, probably on purpose.
For starters, the McGuffin.
The main conflict.
Without Spoiling the twisty bits I can say that it seemed a bit pseudo. Though I am curious to look into a solid behind the scenes breakdown of it.
The only other main science thing that had me scratching my head was radiation sickness.
It seemed that most of the space people in the film lived and worked largely outside of Earth's protective atmosphere. So it made me wonder how, "in the near future" that might have been addressed.
Perhaps some form of new fangled drug that is able to "collect" the radiation to be expelled through normal bodily wase and, with a combination of nutritional suplements, repair the over all radiation damage?
Or maybe those that earn a position working outside of the normal atmosphere end up doing their tour of service and then havind auxilary support roles later?
I'd be curious to see how that would be addressed in the real world.
I did, as a space and process nerd, very much enjoy the film overall. Though, as with most detail orriented sci-fi there were moments that felt montonus. Though, arguably, this was done on purpose. In an effort to address the weeks of travel it takes to get between astronomical locations.
I think that Brad Pitts performance is pretty spot on, though, having largely grown up watching him over the years I can say that I've never seen him in anything I didn't like his performance in.
The supporting cast played their parts well, but the focus of the film was of an isolated individual walking through a, mostly, populated world and not entierly connecting with the people around him.
I can kind of relate to that.
Comparing this film to "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" You can really see the subtelty and craft with which he inhabits his characters. In this film for instance, on the surface he seems an emotionless, robotic, individual. But through small facial ticks and inflections you can see the emotion of the character show through.
So, arbitrary rating? A-
A solid showing of science fiction and characterization. Fails on the A+ because it doesn't have enough "action" to draw in the average viewer for a repeat screening.
