Brad Pitt is one of the most profitable actors of his generation, but that hasn’t saved him from some divisive projects, and one, in particular, divided critics and audiences the most. Brad Pitt has explored a variety of genres throughout his acting career, starting with drama in 1988’s The Dark Side of the Sun, his first leading role. Pitt rose to fame in 1991 thanks to his role in Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, but his big break arrived three years later with Neil Jordan’s gothic horror movie Interview with the Vampire.

Since then, Pitt has made a bit of everything – from sci-fi thrillers like 12 Monkeys to war dramas like Seven Years in Tibet and action comedies like Bullet Train –, all of them showcasing his unique charm. However, not every Brad Pitt movie has been well-received by critics and general audiences, but not all of them have had a marked difference between the critics' and the audience’s reception. Unfortunately, one of Pitt’s 2019 movies marked a disappointing first in his career as his most divisive movie, but it deserved a lot better.

2019 was the year Brad Pitt starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , which gave him his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Ad Astra was well-received by critics, but it was a box office bomb.

In 2019, Brad Pitt starred in Ad Astra, a psychological sci-fi movie directed by James Gray. Ad Astra tells the story of Major Roy McBride (Pitt), an astronaut who is informed that the mysterious power surges that threaten to destabilize human civilization have been traced to the Lima Project. This is a space station in orbit around Neptune sent 29 years earlier to search for intelligent life, and Roy’s father, H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), was the project’s leader. Roy agrees to the mission of crossing the solar system to uncover the truth about the Lima Project, the power surges, and his father’s disappearance.

Despite its interesting premise and stunning visuals, as well as its similarities to recent movies sent in space (such as The Martian and Interstellar), Ad Astra wasn’t a success. Ad Astra was well-received by critics, but it was a box office bomb, grossing $135 million worldwide against an $80-100 million budget – however, it was nominated for different awards, mostly for its cinematography, visual effects, and production design, including a Best Sound Mixing nomination at the 2020 Academy Awards.

The same year Ad Astra was nominated at the Oscars, Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood .

Ad Astra has an 83% critics score, but it has a 40% audience score.

It’s not surprising when a movie fails with both critics and audiences, but Ad Astra marked a first in Pitt’s career with a huge difference between its critics and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. At the time of writing, Ad Astra has an 83% critics score, granting it a “fresh” certificate, but it has a 40% audience score, giving it a “rotten” label. Although there are movies in Pitt’s filmography with low scores in both, Ad Astra is the one with the biggest difference between them, proving how divisive it was.

Ad Astra ’s most praised element was its visual effects, followed by its nuanced storytelling.

Critics praised different elements of Ad Astra that perfectly combined to make it both an exciting and emotionally charged space adventure. Ad Astra’s most praised element was its visual effects, followed by its nuanced storytelling and its exploration of the bond between father and son in a sci-fi setting. Pitt’s performance was also praised, with some critics calling it his best performance to date, and Gray’s direction was also pointed out as one of Ad Astra’s biggest strengths. The audience, however, had a different opinion.

Viewers criticized its unoriginal plot, pace, and how different it was from what the trailers showed.

Although many viewers agreed that Ad Astra’s visuals are the best part of the movie, they criticized its unoriginal plot, pace, and how different it was from what the trailers showed. Viewers also weren’t on board with Pitt’s quieter and more emotional performance, calling it “monotonous” and the movie as a whole “boring”. Ad Astra’s box office failure might have also been the result of its competition in theaters, as it was released alongside Downton Abbey, which was a box office hit.

Ad Astra required a different performance from Pitt.

Ad Astra was different from what the audience is used to seeing from Brad Pitt, who isn’t an actor seen in many sci-fi movies, especially those set in space. Ad Astra also required a different performance from Pitt, as the character was quieter and going through a lot of emotional turmoil, which he wonderfully portrayed. Surely, Ad Astra had its flaws, such as moments where nothing made sense, and it could have benefited from a slightly faster pace, but as it is, it’s a pretty enjoyable, emotional, and visually stunning watch.

Along with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Bullet Train, Ad Astra is one of Brad Pitt’s best movies in recent years, but unlike the rest, it didn’t reach its right audience. Ad Astra could benefit from the gift of time and could eventually get the recognition it deserves, but it marked a first in Brad Pitt’s career due to how divisive it was.