Brad Pitt Goes to Mars in 'Ad Astra' but Reviews Are Mixed

I want to watch Ad Astra mostly because the man Brad Pitt plays in the film has the most Brad Pitt character trait ever: his heart rate never accelerates, even when he's plummeting back down to earth in a spacesuit. Reviews of the film are mixed, with some expecting the movie to do well at the Oscars, while others aren't so forgiving, calling it a methodical, dragging affair. Not exactly the kind of movie you want to hang around for a post-credits scene.

An NBC News Think opinion piece gives the film the kind of review you'd expect after seeing the trailer: The movie is self-serious to the point that some lines even come off as a parody. And there's a lot of understated moments that are supposed to cause tension, but for some viewers, these scenes just come off as boring.

So what's the movie about? Well, if you plan on seeing it and don't want anything spoiled, then stop reading.

But if you're like me and a spoiler never stopped you from seeing a film, then just keep on reading. The film tells the story of Major Roy McBride, the son of Clifford McBride (who's played by Tommy Lee Jones) who is basically like Neil Armstrong. When Roy was younger, Cliff ventured with his crew on the first manned mission to Saturn that ended up with everyone dead, presumably.

They never came back to earth, and then, some decades later, weird bursts from the planet begin causing power outages back home, and that leads higher-ups to believe that Cliff isn't only still alive, but that he's behind these weird bursts from Saturn. What entails is a father-son reunion covered by Brad Pitt's mission to Mars, where he'll have to send a signal to his pops to cease all flare activity.

Roy and Clifford are obviously cut from the same cloth in the film: they're tight-lipped, square-jawed men who aren't affected by anything, and the film is panned for attempting to show this as a character flaw, even though it both "serves" the men in their lives. Brad Pitt, without a care in the world, manages to fall through space and navigate certain-death situations and fights with relative ease.

Meanwhile, other crew members who don't "keep it together" like Roy does, all end up either dead or emotional wrecks or both. The movie has also been criticized for including Roy's wife (played by Liv Tyler) in the movie... but giving her nothing to say or do of consequence. As Francois Duhamel writes, "He has more intimate conversations with his computer psych evaluation program." Yikesaroni.

The film does, however, look absolutely gorgeous and is praised for having a dreamlike quality to it, which is really cool for a space flick. 

This movie has the exact opposite of an after the credits scene — not only does it not have one once those names start rolling up on the screen, but the movie states "The End," once it's over. So that means there won't be a sequel. Not that this is the kind of film that would really warrant one.

I was hoping they'd play this track during the ending credits, but no dice.

So will you be checking Ad Astra out? Or are you saving up your trip to theaters to watch Joker?