Interstellar (2014) Review

I really liked this film, probably my favourite science fiction film in years. The concept was dark but surprisingly humanist from a director like Nolan. The visuals are great, the split between practical effects and CGI are really well done, and IMAX is a must. Then we have the cast, who are great performers, have some excellent dialogue and emotional scenes, but I am not sure about the chemistry. I was worried about this film beforehand and even thought this might be Nolan’s first flop, boy am glad I was wrong.

I’ll go into much more detail below but for now bookmark this if you are waiting to see the film, leave any comments below, if you have seen the film then check out the spoiler sections and I will look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts.

“Our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, because our destiny lies above us.”

Plot:

With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

Tim’s Film Reviews Recommended

Story: 95%     Acting: 100%     Characters: 80%     Dialogue: 90%

Sci-Fi/Adventure: 100%     Style/Sound: 95%     Visuals: 100%

Total: 94%

The film has a brilliant concept and the story inside it is nearly as good. The reason I really like this film more than any other reason is that it really explores something; it takes you through a wormhole and into completely alien worlds. It gives you the kind of adventure other science fiction films should but very rarely do, and does it in a way that is so believable that you get sucked in so easily. Then we have the more personal human story, not Nolan’s strong suit I know but he did pretty well. I especially liked the relationship between Cooper and his daughter. Again more details in the spoiler section.

The acting is good, very good. The characters maybe not as good. Each actor is spectacular even the smaller roles, some really wanted to see more of. The problem comes from the chemistry between these characters, especially from the crew members. Cooper, Brand, Doyle and Principal where great characters individually but didn’t seem to click as a group. Which is even weirder when you think how long they ended up on the ship together. I actually think they worked best with the TARS robot, who was easily my favourite character, had no idea it was going to be funny. Some of them TARS lines properly had me laughing in an otherwise dark film.

The science fiction of this film is great, when the concept first came through I heard Nolan had been consulting theorists and physicists to try and create the most accurate concepts and visuals for this film, clearly he did and you can see it. The technology, space, the planets, the real complicated space travel concepts, that’s some good Sci-Fi. The wormhole was fantastic to see, the twisted mirror effect and bending space, its stuff I have read about for a while (NERD!) and I love seeing some films taking it seriously. I also like how realistic the planets and ships were, we probably aren’t going to find another planet just like earth, you’re not going to step off a space ship and find pine trees, it’ll be radically different.

The visuals in this film are excellent, flawless and beautiful. You’ll never see space in a more realistic way, both pretty and pretty terrifying. The planets looked great and really weird. The water one with “That’s not a mountain it’s a wave” was amazing, the cross between CGI and practical was seamless. The music was Hans Zimmer, so loud and inspiring.

SPOILERS!!!

Seriously guys turn away now to avoid spoilers. Christopher Nolan appears in the blackhole and in a soft voice says “yes fan boys I am GOD!!!” I told you not to read this section. There is a lot to talk about here so I’ll keep it brief and talk more in the comments. I liked that fifth dimension weirdness that got Cooper into the near future mainly because it linked upto those comments in the earlier film, “You were born 40 years too early or too late for this world”. Now he can explore and discover the universe. I am equal parts an optimist and a pessimist, this film really worked for me. It’s dark enough to see the reality of human greed and selfishness but gives you insight into enough selflessness and hope for the future to give us a happier ending than I was expected. Also TARS survived! Like some sarcastic, joke telling R2D2.

Trailer:

The best reviews I found would be these:

“Interstellar was well worth the wait, in my opinion, and is a really good movie overall – most importantly, it is an experience. Christopher Nolan has, once again, delivered another stunning film, though this will certainly not be in a high running for taking over and outranking some of his other works.” The Sporadic Chronicles. Full Review 

“Interstellar is a trip worth taking for the views and some reminders of how far scientific discovery actually has come if nothing else.” Digital Shortbread. Full Review 

“Its captivating sense of scale and adventure had me hooked right off the bat, and even though the plot stumbled under its own ambitions near the end, this is still a movie that must be seen on the big screen, and is absolutely worth your time and money.” William Jepma. Full Review

“Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” practices filmmaking as equal parts narrative and poetic. It’s told at a length of 2 hours, 49 minutes, and entertains thoroughly. At times, the movie feel like back-to-back episodes of a TV series. But I don’t know of any network that would plan for something this ambitious, let alone carry those plans out so extraordinarily.” Cinemaniac Reviews. Full Review

Spoilers!

My favourite scene would have to be either slingshot around the blackhole or all of TARS’s Jokes (Really wish I could find his quotes online).

Cooper: What’s your trust setting, TARS?

TARS: Lower than yours, apparently