Interstellar was a movie that I had high expectations of since it was hyped so much. Also Christopher Nolan’s wrote and directed it and with the Dark Knight Trilogy fresh in our minds it set a high bar for Interstellar. Here’s a piece of advice. Go pee first! That’s the most important advice I can give. Interstellar was almost 3 hours and there was never really a good time to go to the bathroom. Also, don’t worry. The header picture isn’t a spoiler of any kind. It’s just the top of a poster for the movie that I liked. So, without further ado, here’s my review.
I really really wanted to see Interstellar. It had a fantastic premise, an extraordinary cast, and Christopher Nolan doesn’t make bad movies. The only reason I was a bit scared was due to the fact that it was sci-fi movie. Remember class, there are two types of science fiction. Hard and soft. I know this is starting to sound like a viagra commercial but stay with me. Hard sci-fi happens when a story tries to be and is mostly scientifically and technically accurate. I used the word try because no movie is going to get it all right. Look at Gravity. There were scientists who applauded the accuracy of the movie while there were other stories of dbag scientists laughing out lout at the movie. Soft sci-fi is when a story isn’t scientifically accurate or when it focuses on a social science. Star Trek and Stargate are soft sci-fi movies. (Remember that Star Wars is more science fantasy).
Now that I’m done lecturing let’s get back to the movie. My fears for Interstellar never came to fruition. Interstellar was hard sci-fi… mostly. There are soft sci-fi elements but the thing my science nerd friend Walker pointed out was that the soft sci-fi in the movie always revolved around what we really didn’t know. What’s on the other side of a black hole? Could we exist in a fifth dimension? Is Matthew McConaughey ever not handsome? (Hint: The answer is no) But I digress. I don’t want to talk about the accuracy of the science too much as I’m not a scientist AND that’s not what reviews are for. I believe Neil deGrasse Tyson talked about the film quite a bit so just Google it and read away.
Interstellar’s story was down to Earth both literally and figuratively. As already shown in the trailers, the story revolves around Cooper (McConaughey) who is asked to leave his family behind and travel into space looking for a new home for humanity and Murph (Jessica Chastain and Mackenzie Foy) who has to live through not only his absence, but a dying Earth. There’s a lot more to the story than that but I really want you to see it and enjoy the complexity as it unfolds. It’s heart-warming and heart-breaking, it’s thrilling and sobering, and funny and terrifying. Science fiction tends to be one of those polarizing genres but even non-sci-fi lovers will enjoy it. I believe there’s a special word for people who don’t like sci-fi, what was it again? Oh yeah, plebeian.
Interstellar had a great cast of characters and picked the perfect people to portray them. Each character was vital to the story no matter how small their part was. Even the robots were important as well as hilarious which was needed because the comedy was good way to blow off some steam after some of the more intense parts. Even though everyone was great the only character I really got to know was Cooper but I accepted that because Interstellar really was his movie. Anne Hathaway’s character Brand had quite a bit of screen time but I never felt like I got more than a superficial feeling for her. Murph was the only other character that I felt like I knew but not anywhere near as much as I understood Cooper. Michael Caine and John Lithgow were good but they’re starting to get typecast as wise old men who’s job is to advise the main character.
This was a CG heavy movie and they did a really good job of it. Peter Jackson could have learned a lesson if this had come out before The Hobbit movies. Luckily this movie didn’t suffer from Summer Blockbuster syndrome where stunning CG seems to take precedence over story. To quote Jurassic Park, Interstellar “spared no expense”. All of the alien worlds, like the one from the trailer pictured above, seemed realistic and it’s plausibility made the suspension of disbelief easy to maintain. The only thing that could pull me out of the movie was the old man sitting in front of me reaching into his empty drink and chewing his ice. I mean, come on! Eating your ice is one thing, but making such a noisy spectacle over it. There was nothing lacking in this movie. In fact, I wish it had been a bit longer just to have more scenes with the robots.
I want to touch briefly on two things. First is the environmental message in the movie. Interstellar did it really well. Christopher Nolan wasn’t heavy handed about it but the message was there and I believe that it was more effective that way. I tend to get defensive when a movie or a TV show gets preachy out of nowhere. The message was simple and it was even obvious from the trailer. We need to take better care of the planet. The second thing is there’s a fantastic cameo. The actor was never even mentioned before (s)he didn’t make any of the press rounds nor did I ever read anything about her/him being in the movie. So when (s)he was revealed, i just about jumped out of my seat.
If you couldn’t already tell, I loved Interstellar. I’ll refrain from giving you all the excuses on why it took me so long to write this. Instead I’ll say that if you haven’t seen it yet then see it as soon as you can. This holiday season is the perfect time to sit down with family or friends next to you and watch an epic sci-fi movie. I was engrossed from the very first minute and even after I realized I had to go to the bathroom due to too much iced tea, I just couldn’t get up and miss anything. The story was solid, the acting was great, the hard science was sound, the soft science was plausible, the movie looked beautiful, and the robots were hilarious. I laughed, I cried, I felt the tension, and I loved every minute of it. Interstellar probably won’t win best picture since the Academy in their bitter old age rarely gives high honors to genre films, but in my opinion, Interstellar deserves best picture.
Interstellar gets an 11 out of 11