Perhaps our MOST mixed review ever - we genuinely loved the production values & performance. But we also had some major story issues. Even still, Ad Astra may contend in several categories that we discuss in our Oscar Lens.

What is an Oscar Sprint Profile? - 1:41

NONSPOILER SECTION:

Production Profile (Cast/Crew/Specs) - 2:33

Plot Premise/Expectations - 8:00

Production Values:

Sight - 11:04

Sound - 13:42

Performances - 15:04

Script Thoughts - 18:16

Oscars Lens - 22:19

Watch or Not? - 24:35

SPOILER WARNING DANCE PARTY - 25:25

SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW:

Guessing At The Reshoots - 26:48

Script Issues and Plot Problems - 32:42

(The Ruth Negga Conundrum - 36:16)

(Nonsense. Pure Nonsense. - 40:32)

Highlights and Bests - 43:14

Theoretical Commentary + Its Handling - 49:26

Other Lowlights and Worsts - 50:51

Historically Unique - 53:05

FINAL GRADE - 54:23

Your Homework/PLEASE LEAVE US 5*’S - 56:13

What’s Next From MMO/Words of Wisdom - 57:21

One Last Wild Hypothetical - 58:40

Ad Astra faced a tumultuous journey to the big screen after a studio change, re-shoots, a new release date, and a bloated budget. But whatever the turmoil behind the camera, the talent, craft, and vision on screen is undeniable, and we can’t help but praise many of the jaw-dropping visuals, haunting audio, and one of the very best Brad Pitt performances in a stellar career. Our non-spoiler section separates these remarkable superlatives from some unforgivable story decisions. With one of us being a screenwriter & the other, a damned good writer in his own, um, right - we can’t help ourselves.

But don’t worry. We more than explain ourselves in spoilers after a dance musical interlude to warn you that we’re about to discuss everything in the plot. We begin with a fun discussion on what scenes we thought were re-shot, and it’s not as easy to pinpoint as you (we) might have thought. Then we discuss the faults (or black holes) in the major plotlines before commenting on many of the bests before closing with a few more worsts. It’s another deep dive type of movie review from MMO for another OSP. So if you love acronyms half as much as I do, we hope you enjoy.

This is already the 16th episode in our Oscar Sprint Profile movie review series of 2019. Here, we try to review all of the major contenders & eventual nominees like Hustlers, The Farewell, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Toy Story 4, Avengers: Endgame, Downton Abbey, & many more, currently in this playlist on our soundcloud. The fall will be jam packed with many more Oscar contending films, and we hope whatever you think of this film & our review, that you continue to click play on our takes.

If you’re enjoying our show, please take a few moments to give us a 5 star rating on Apple Podcasts. Just go to our podcast on iTunes, scroll down a few seconds until you get the blank stars and click that fifth one. We really appreciate your support, & it helps us a great deal.

Let us know your thoughts on Ad Astra. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!