Ad Astra sends Brad Pitt to the far reaches of space on a quest for his father, the truth,
and a sense of deeper meaning.
If you're wondering what it all adds up to, let's break down the ending and major takeaways
of Ad Astra.
After SpaceCom determines that Clifford McBride is likely behind the destructive antimatter
pulse that kicks off the movie's plot, his son Roy is dispatched on a mission to Mars
in an effort to establish communication with the elder McBride.
Roy ends up journeying all the way to Neptune, where he discovers that SpaceCom was right,
his father is still alive, and was at least partly responsible for the antimatter surge.
The surge came after the crew of his station staged a deadly mutiny, irrevocably damaging
the battery powering the station.
But the true tragedy, at least in Clifford's eyes, is the result of all their research,
which shows no sign of intelligent alien life in the universe.
Although the Lima Project compiled reams of data about outlying planets and systems, it
didn't find what Clifford was really looking for.
Clifford was so determined to find new life that he was willing to abandon his family
and even kill for it.
Although the information he did gather is valuable, for him, it's not enough.
Roy McBride is uniquely qualified for the mission to determine the fate of Project Lima.
There's his family connection to the Project's long-lost leader, and the fact that he is,
like Neil Armstrong was described to be, an almost supernaturally reserved man.
Even working in dangerous conditions in deep space, his pulse goes no higher than 80bpm,
and he deals with the bad news about his father with a steely calm.
"Now, we're counting on you to help us find him.
Are you with us?"
"Yes I am, sir."
It's this quality that comes in extra handy when Roy realizes what SpaceCom is really
up to, specifically, the agency is out to double-cross him and kill Clifford.
The secret plan all along is to observe Roy's attempt to establish communication with Clifford,
using Clifford's response to figure out where he is, and then travel there to finish him
off with a nuclear weapon.
Once he figures it out, Roy proves more than a match for the other team, successfully sabotaging
their mission before journeying to Neptune in peace.
The central message of Ad Astra is best summed up by Roy's words to his father just before
they leave Project Lima.
Roy tells his father that what Cliff has proven, that there's no alien life to be found, is
just as important as finding another world full of intelligence.
By learning there is no intelligent life in the known universe, Cliff has shown us that,
as Roy puts it, "We're all we've got."
Speaking to Digital Spy, writer/director James Gray explained that the idea of looking for
answers in alien life isn't a particularly appealing idea to him.
Gray said,
"The idea that there's these little green men out there that'll either save us or eat
us, to me that's more horrifying than having to rely on other people."
With the Lima Project's antimatter battery damaged, the station is a lost cause, actively
endangering life on other planets as it breaks down.
Clifford can't repair it, but thankfully, Roy has arrived with a solution of sorts:
the nuclear bomb SpaceCom intended to use on Clifford.
After getting his father out of the station, Roy uses the bomb for part of its intended
purpose, blowing up the station and getting rid of the battery.
It's an ignominious end for Lima Project, which set out on a hopeful mission before
spiraling into madness, violence, and catastrophic loss of life.
Clifford ran away from Earth hoping to find answers, but ended up creating more problems,
underlining one of the movie's major themes: running away from problems we're meant to
face head-on can only lead to disappointment.
Somewhere between Earth and Neptune, it seems pretty obvious that Cliff McBride has lost
his freaking mind.
But one of the interesting things about Ad Astra is that with Roy's voyage, we get to
follow in Cliff's footsteps and see exactly how his marbles spilled out.
Roy's narration tells us there are physical strains affecting his mental health, like
the extended time spent in zero gravity.
There's also the crushing isolation of space, something Roy commits to facing as he continues
on his quest to find his father, going past the moon, past Mars, and then all the way
to Neptune.
"Are you ready?"
"I'm ready."
Roy's journey mirrors what must have been his father's in a lot of ways, including the
death toll.
When Roy reaches his father, we learn the antimatter surges aren't something Cliff has
been causing on purpose.
His struggles against his crew, he says, caused the damage that led to the antimatter instability.
This is something Roy is familiar with, because his trek through the stars has left its own
trail of collateral damage; with few exceptions, just about everyone who has been at Roy's
side throughout his journey is dead by the end of the movie.
Though he doesn't mean for it to happen, he indirectly causes the death of the surviving
crew on the ship to Neptune, just as Cliff indirectly unleashes the antimatter surge
that threatens the solar system.
After they escape Project Lima, Cliff detaches himself from Roy, guaranteeing his own certain
death.
He has more than a few reasons for doing it.
First, there are the consequences he might have to face upon returning to Earth.
He doesn't know that his crimes have been swept under the rug, and so has no reason
to think he'll be shown any mercy.
Second, while he may refuse to admit it to himself, what he calls his destiny has proven
to be a sham.
Considering everything he's done for that "destiny," how could he not want to end things?
Finally, as he tells Roy, this lonely void has become his home.
He has no desire to return to Earth.
Ad Astra has been compared to a number of classic movies, from the awe and wonder of
2001: A Space Odyssey, the character study of First Man, and the grounded thrills of
Gravity.
It's also drawn comparisons to Apocalypse Now, in the way Roy is drawn deeper and deeper
into space on his dangerous quest.
But Ad Astra is fundamentally about the desire for connection between parents and their offspring,
and between people in general, and the dark places people can be driven to when that connection
is lost.
"It's a very human story dealing with our connection to humanity."
In many ways, Roy McBride's journey is a terribly sad one, he's betrayed by his employers, and
faced with the reality of his father's crimes, potential insanity, and then death.
He loses the parent he journeyed billions of miles to save.
But in spite of that loss, the movie's message remains hopeful.
As Roy tells Clifford, we're all we've got, and those bonds are strong enough to take
us all to Neptune and back.
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