This Underseen 83% Rotten Tomatoes Sci-Fi Is Exactly What 'Interstellar' Fans Need

Among the competitive lineup at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, James Gray is arguably the most revered American filmmaker of the bunch. While he may not be a household name, anyone who's followed Gray is well aware of his accomplished filmography, ranging from his indie crime dramas like The Yards to his recent semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, Armageddon Time. Gray, whose upcoming film, Paper Tiger premiered at Cannes, reached the highest level of recognition in 2019 by receiving major studio money to direct a sci-fi epic starring Brad Pitt.

Although it disappointed at the box office, it was clear that Ad Astra was special, even if Gray was unhappy with the final cut due to studio interference. In an era where Interstellar is often cited as the best space movie of the 21st century, this overlooked space odyssey, filled with authentic intergalactic travel and moody drama, is the perfect companion piece.

Ad Astra was done dirty from the start, evidenced by its unfortunate release date in September, infamously a dumping ground for studios. Despite its relatively underwhelming performance due to its $90 million budget, the film was met with critical acclaim. However, the movie ultimately left a bad taste in Gray's mouth, as he candidly revealed his frustration with the final cut. Speaking to Vulture in 2022, Gray blamed the Disney-20th Century Studios merger for the film's compromised vision, adding that Disney's takeover caused everything to be "completely screwed up on a corporate level." Gray's biggest gripe with the end result was the "stupid" voice-over by the protagonist, Roy McBride (Pitt).

For audiences who believe voice-over is a filmmaking crutch that undercuts the audience's intelligence, Ad Astra's omnipresent narration by Pitt's character could be grating. In a grand, operatic sci-fi adventure, one would prefer that the immersive cinematography and chilling atmosphere of outer space do the talking; instead, the film often relies on McBride to reveal his conflicted and sobering thoughts to the audience. Evoking the original cut of Blade Runner, which is notorious for its sleepy narration by Harrison Ford, Pitt's low-energy cadence feels needlessly drawn out in spurts. Still, on its own, the narration is deeply poignant, and it enhances the loneliness and overarching dread permeating the movie. In the end, it serves as a character, rather than a device meant to hand-hold the viewer.

Brad Pitt's 'Ad Astra' Is a Darker Take on 'Interstellar' and Other Sci-Fi Adventure Movies

Regardless of your opinion on the voice-over, Ad Astra is an ambitious film and a worthy entry in the canon of recent space epics, including Interstellar, The Martian, Arrival, and 2026's crowning achievement so far, Project Hail Mary. Visually speaking, Gray raised the bar for the genre, one-upping the film's fellow moody space dramas in its immersive production design. Everything feels so tactile and lived-in that you'd think you were watching a NASA documentary. The grain, age, and texture of each ship, uniform, and mechanical device allow the story to operate at a grounded level. The vista shots of McBride looking down at planet Earth as he traverses along the ship leaves you in awe, as the subtle stakes of the movie are immediately heightened at the sight of our home that's in need of rescue.

Roy McBride's mission — investigating a potentially fatal threat to the universe — also finds him uncovering the truth about his father's disappearance from another mission, played with the utmost gravitas by Tommy Lee Jones. In the same year in which he won an Academy Award for Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, Brad Pitt gives a haunting performance as an astronaut cursed by family trauma. The great unknown that is outer space reflects McBride's meditative tendencies, but the inherent isolation of space travel leaves him adrift across the galaxy, floating through the air literally and figuratively. Ad Astra demands that the viewers lend themselves to Gray, who uses the backdrop of the sci-fi spectacle to examine fate and mortality, honoring the classic moody space dramas like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris.

On the flip side, Ad Astra isn't just a dour drama about a man lost in space. James Gray took another leap as a filmmaker with his construction of thrilling set pieces involving life-and-death scenarios, particularly a white-knuckle chase sequence on the moon that's basically The French Connection in space. A perfect hybrid of a sci-fi spectacle and a meditative character drama, Ad Astra is ready for a massive cult following to emerge.

Ad Astra

Release Date September 17, 2019

Runtime 124 minutes

Director James Gray