Ad Astra: the 2001 of the 21st Century (So Far)

What better time to see Ad Astra than now, at the end of the second decade of the 21st century, when we still have made but a pittance of progress beyond our landing on the Moon in 1969?

In the "near future" of Ad Astra, we're established on the Moon and Mars - not well established, by any means, but good enough - and the story concerns Roy McBride's (Brad Pitt) trip to Neptune to find out what happened to his father, Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones).  Clifford was the first man to reach Jupiter and then Saturn, but he got hung up around Neptune, and most people don't know if he's dead or alive. 

Ray thinks he's alive, and he's right, which leads to the bigger story: is it worth leaving Earth, permanently, in the quest to find some alien intelligence, that Clifford is sure must be out there? Clifford's so sure that he begs Ray to let him float away in space, to die, rather than return to Earth with Ray.   In the decisive scene, Ray lets his father go, and Ray returns to Earth.  Because, having discovered there's likely no other intelligence out there, Ray wants to return to his home.

It's not the ending I wanted, but the movie was nonetheless powerful, and the ending was emotionally satisfying.  Indeed, Ad Astra was so good a movie, so different in the combination of individual personality and grand scale, that I'd say it's the 2001 of our 21st century, at least so far.

As to what I would have rather seen at the end: that would have been Ray refusing to let his father go, bringing Clifford back to Earth, where Ray could have unpacked, savored, and assessed his father's immense knowledge gathered over thirty years at the furtherest our species has ventured from Planet Earth.  Yes, Ray speaks of great stores of knowledge in the records his father kept, but there's nothing like actually talking to the person who made and kept the records to get the deepest and fullest picture of what he (or she) learned.

Nonetheless - great acting Brad Pitt, great movie by James Gray, see it.

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