Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Theater review. Possible spoilers. For those of you who didn’t take Latin in school (like me), the title translated means ‘To the Stars.’ The film is set in the ‘near future’ and opens with a crew working on a giant transmission tower on Earth. One that actually reaches inner space. One of those workers is Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), an astronaut. Suddenly an electrical surge zaps the tower putting those on the inside and the outside at mortal risk. Roy and others fall as the tower begins to collapse. Falling tens of thousand feet, Roy nearly blacks out but maintains his composure as he inflates his space suit enough to slow down before pulling the rip cord. He’s still in jeopardy as pieces of debris hit his parachute. He lands hard and is hospitalized. The scene is gripping and well done from a technical standpoint. But it is all to show how Roy has a unique ability to remain calm, focused and steady. We learn that he’s never had a pulse rate that exceeded 80 BPM and in this environment everything is constantly monitored. While this opener is exciting, it’s also a bit of feign as this movie is more “2001: A Space Odyssey” than “Star Trek/Wars.” But in reality it reminded me most of “Apocalypse Now” which incidentally is the only other movie (new Directors Cut) I’ve seen in theaters this year that I rated a perfect 5 stars. Like Captain Willard in “Apocalypse Now,” Roy narrates many of the scenes, providing some insight into his loneliness, in part caused by his focus on his job. He’s married to Eve (Liv Tyler), but her scenes are silent and rare. She leaves Roy because of his coolness and lack of affection. He admits it. After Roy heals from his fall from space, he’s summons to meet with 3 top level government officials. Roy learns that these electrical surges are coming more often and that they have killed over 40 thousand people worldwide. Scientists believe they may be targeted and coming from Neptune. Years earlier, Roy’s father, H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), another famous astronaut, led an exploratory mission called Project Lima whose goal was to determine if there was life beyond the reaches of our own solar system. There is reason to believe that Clifford may have snapped and is zapping Earth with the electrical surges. Roy was a young man when his dad left him and his mother. Roy has been asked to go to Neptune and see what’s what and destroy the outpost assuming he can make contact with his father. He will have pit stops on the Moon which has become a tourist destination complete with little policing, no borders and a thriving criminal element. From there Roy and a crew chosen to transport him, will fly to Mars which has an underground outpost and try to contact his dad. If successful on to Neptune. The plan however is to leave Roy behind, unsure that he would have the fortitude to take out his father if necessary. Roy isn’t happy about that. The station chief, Helen Lantos (Ruth Negga) will help Roy find a way to get on board. Director James Gray (“The Lost City of Z”) does a wonderful job keeping things moving. He adds just the right mix of action to stir the pot as things become more circumspect as Roy takes another look at his life up to this point. Hoyte Van Hoytema handles the camera work and the vastness of space never looked more beautiful. The music by Max Richter is near perfection. All of the technical aspects warrant Oscar consideration as does the movie, Gray and Pitt. The supporting cast, specifically Negga, Jones and Donald Sutherland as Roy’s escort and confidant travelling from the Earth to the Moon, deserve mention. This is the best movie I’ve seen this year. Five asterisks.