Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar may be the hardest movie of the year to review, and not for any one tangible reason. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen it, but there’s something about this epic tale; is it perfect? Not by a long shot, and I don’t think I would call it a masterpiece, but one can’t deny that it is one of the most epic cinematic journeys in years. The sheer effort that goes into this movie is astounding, and regardless of who says what about this film, you should definitely see this one in theaters, however, don’t expect the flawless work of art that many may have expected from Christopher Nolan’s latest non-Batman film; what you can expect, is a long, entertaining journey across the universe and back, one quite unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

At its core, Interstellar is really a very simple movie; humanity is dying and we have to find a way to save Earth… or leave it. Of course, Alfred… er, Michael Caine insists that the only way to save humankind is to find a new home, and of course Matthew McConaughey is the only man fit to do the job; that job being leaving Earth behind and finding a new planet for humanity to flee to. This sets up a rather heartbreaking scene where McConaughey is forced to leave his family behind, possibly forever; it’s moments like these where Interstellar is strong. The acting is superb (McConaughey’s drawl can be distracting sometimes, but it really fits the character in this movie I think) and the effects are all breathtaking, it’s in other areas where Interstellar falls short.

As this film is all about the existence of humanity, there is a lot of philosophical logic being thrown around at certain points; this is where things start to get ridiculous at times. The film seems to be grasping at something over its head, at one point Anne Hathaway talks about love as a quantifiable force (with a totally straight face) attempting to make a point about love perhaps being another dimension or part of evolution or something ridiculous; keep in mind this woman is a serious scientist (and I don’t think they brought any space weed so we can rule that out), or so we thought, so this all seems a bit ridiculous, especially because the film seems to validate that theory near the end.

While there’s certainly some shaky science in this film, there’s plenty of interesting theories being thrown around. At one point (probably one of the best moments of the film) the team lands on a planet near a black hole, which throws off time on the planet, meaning that every hour they stay there is seven years on Earth. There are several other breathtaking moments on the journey, like traveling through wormhole, or encountering waves taller than skyscrapers, and this is definitely the main attraction in this movie.

Towards the end of the film things really gets crazy and there’s a moment where you have to decide whether or not you’re going to accept the film’s logic as it leaves all realms of scientific reality. I don’t want to spoil it, but you will either hate it or love it, or perhaps you just won’t know what to think (like myself), however, I can’t deny the journey to get there is well worth it.

At its core, Interstellar is about humanity and when it focuses on this it strives; there’s some really great moments (like McConaughey telling his daughter that he can’t “be your ghost right now”) and we see both the good and bad that survival mode can bring out in humanity. Unfortunately, when the film reaches for broader, less concrete ideas, it can’t quite adequately explain or sell the idea, and it comes across as half-baked, at least it did for me. That doesn’t take away from epic journey that this film is, but it does prevent it from being the masterpiece that I was expecting.

 Even though it wasn’t another 2001: A Space Odyssey, it still manages to be highly entertaining and I was on the edge of my seat for most of the film, and while it may sound like I’m being mostly negative about it, that’s more of a reflection on how hyped up the film was; it’s still a terrific movie and I highly recommend it. Regardless, go see this film (and see it in actual film because that’s how Nolan would want it) because you may never see another spectacle like this for some time.

One last note: I liked certain parts of the score, but someone needs to tell Hans Zimmer that sometimes less is more. The music blared on for most of the movie, and there were times when I couldn’t even hear the lines because the score was so loud. I get it, this part’s supposed to be exciting and have suspenseful music and all that, but I’d really like to hear what the actors are saying too.

An additional final note: I don’t understand how any planet near a black hole is considered inhabitable; honestly, I’d rather die on Earth.

I promise this is the last last note: There's a lot of talk about gravity in this movie (talk that doesn't make any sense of course) maybe this film should have been titled Gravity instead.

-Ryan Maples

Rating: 8.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/?ref_=nv_sr_1