Ad Astra Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

1. The Fantastic Musical Score & Sound Mixing

And finally, in addition to its spectacular visuals, this is a beautiful-sounding movie.

First and foremost, the musical score from Max Richter - whose work on last year's Mary Queen of Scots should've been Oscar-nominated - is dynamically gorgeous, vacillating from a quietly tense electronic hum to the more bombastic orchestral work you'd expect from a film with this scale.

Then there's the sound editing and mixing. Like First Man last year, a great emphasis has been placed on the unnerving creaking metal of the various vessels depicted throughout the film, and repeated, dreamlike dialogue is often cleverly mixed to take full advantage of your cinema's speaker set-up.

Aside from its probable nomination for a Best Visual Effects Oscar, Ad Astra also seems likely to earn some awards love for its remarkable sound work.