Interstellar is the newest film from Christopher Nolan, and it's one of the most highly talked about and anticipated movies of 2014. So, how did it fare?
In Interstellar, The Earth has slowly degraded into an arid, barren dustbowl where the only remaining crop is corn (and even that is starting to die off). The Nitrogen levels are also starting to rise, so the people that don't starve will be the first to suffocate. Desperate to save mankind, NASA sends a group of scientists and good ole boy Matthew McConaughey through a wormhole and into another galaxy in search of a planet that could hold life. "Mankind was born on Earth, it was never intended to die here".
The cast here is surprisingly strong. Interstellar is essentially a one man show , but there are other recognizable names in smaller roles as well. Mackenzie Foy is a real treat as Murph, the intelligent and loving daughter of McConaughey's Cooper. The scenes she shares with McConaughey feel real and are pretty heartfelt and emotional. It's really cool to see these two play off of each other, and support each other through their performances. I really bought them as father/daughter, and their relationship is one of the defining points of this film. I'd say Foy is easily one of the best parts of this movie.
McConaughey puts on another powerhouse performance (The McConaissence continues). He is the main focus for most of this film, and we spend pretty much all of the film with his character. If McConaughey did not deliver, this film would have flopped. Luckily, he brings the goods here. I'd say this is one of his best performances, and his more emotional scenes are quite affecting.
Anne Hathaway is pretty good as Amelia, one of Cooper's flight mates. Hathaway performs her role quite well, but isn't as memorable as others. Michael Caine is also pretty good as Professor Brand, the NASA scientist who recruits Cooper. He's your typical Michael Caine character, and I really liked him. He is at his Michael Caine-iest here, and he actually is pretty memorable (plus, some of the more memorable dialogue belongs to him). Jessica Chastain portrays one of the more important characters and is pretty great. In an attempt to avoid spoilers (no matter how minor) I'm not going to say who she plays but I will say that I really enjoyed seeing her in the film, and that she performs nicely in her role. Bill Irwin is pretty perfect as the voice of TARS, a unique, blocky robot that is programmed with the personality of a U.S Marine. TARS is actually given a good deal to do here (he's a fairly big, important role), and not only is surprisingly likable...he also makes quite the impression and is another memorable character in the film. There are tons of surprise appearances here from well known names, and part of the fun of this film is seeing who pops up. It's almost like a really good game of Guess Who.
The visuals in Interstellar are gorgeous. This is a film that takes place in the vastness of space and we get to explore a wormhole, a blackhole, and several new planets. Even the parts on Earth are pretty despite the general bleakness of it all (Dust everywhere). While watching the film, it really does feel like you are in a different galaxy and that you are exploring new planets. I for one would like to know what areas they shot at for the new planets because the places they used are haunting and gorgeous in their solitude and vastness. Interstellar has one of the largest scopes I've seen in a film, it expands far beyond our galaxy and into unknown areas. It's actually quite thrilling to travel with the filmmakers to these new and unexplored locations.
If you walked in to Interstellar expecting action of any kind, you walked into the wrong film. There are barely any action scenes here at all. This is a thinking man's science fiction film and so most of the run time is spent exploring, and watching characters discuss new philosophies, sciences, and theories. There are some big ideas here, and this seems like a film that wants to expand your mind a bit. Most of the science seems sound, except for what the film thinks is the answer to Earth's problems (It's a big idea, but one that kind of seems silly when you stop and really think about what they are saying), and while one of the key scenes near the ending is a bit confusing, I still got the gist of what was going on (You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it).
Interstellar is a slow, deliberately paced film that takes it's time-sweet-time getting to its final destination. It runs at around 2 hours and 49 minutes long, but it feels like 4 hours. When you walk in to see this film, you are making a commitment. I will say that the first two acts had me completely enthralled, but I felt that Interstellar started to run out of steam near the end. I could see how quite a few people would perceive this film as being boring. Once again, not much action really occurs (lots of exploring and talking), and the film definitely drags a good deal but that's kind of the deal with these types of artsy, intelligent, hard sci-fi films. Either you like this kind of thing, or you don't.
Intestellar is a film that deserves to be seen in a theater (preferably one with IMAX, if I do see it again it will be in IMAX. Felt like I missed out seeing it on a regular screen). Interstellar is definitely not without its flaws, but I still would say that this is my personal favorite Nolan film I've seen. It's one of the most ambitious films I've seen and it's scope is downright epic (spanning galaxies). I know that by the time I left the theater, I felt like I had made the journey with Cooper and crew. The cast is a strong one, McConaughey anchors the proceedings (he carries this film on his back), it's ideas and science is interesting, and its visuals are stunning.It's a film that wants you to think about the ideas it's discussing. Interstellar did struggle to keep my attention at points, but I'm glad I stuck with it because the end product may be slow and intellectual but is still definitely rewarding. Nolan is clearly a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and his Interstellar is easily the 2001: A Space Odyssey for a new generation.
4 STARS
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