First and foremost, Ad Astra is the most visually stunning film I’ve seen all year. Space is such an extraordinary imaginative area for filmmakers and James Gray delivered on all fronts. 

This story was very simple and the heart of the film was the father-son relationship. Not only was this a space film, it had an in depth analysis about how children are affected but their parents actions. It posed questions about the universe, life, human psychology and mental illnesses. The story is linear but the dialogue was rich in the development of these ideas. Brad Pitt gave a very subtle and powerful performance as Roy McBride and at times he brought me to tears. There was this overwhelming sense that he was in pain and he delivered it beautifully. 

What I absolutely loved about this film was the attention to detail and the inventive content about space exploration in the near future. I have never seen a film actually develop different textures of sediments on each of these planets. The lighting and sound design accompanied each planet differently and it was incredible. 

If you love space, this is definitely a film that elevates that genre of filmmaking.