Ad Astra positions itself as a thinking person’s sci-fi adventure, and it has the credentials to back it up. Brad Pitt, who also lends his name as producer, stars as an astronaut sent on a mission to locate his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones), whose rogue experiments in space have catastrophic implications for life on earth. Directed by the ever-thoughtful James Gray (who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Gross), the film played in competition at the Venice Film Festival, but lost the Golden Lion to Joker. Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland contribute strong support.

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