[Movie Review] Interstellar (2014)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Runtime: 169 min
Main Cast:
- Matthew McConaughey as Cooper
- Anne Hathaway as Amelia
- Jessica Chastain as Murph
- Michael Caine as Professor Brand
- Wes Bentley as Doyle
- Matt Damon as Dr. Mann
Guest Review: by Erika T
A vulnerable earth with its people on the brink of extinction leads to a group of NASA explorers seeking out a newly discovered wormhole to find the next best viable planet for the people of earth.
What I Liked:
The best part of this film for me was that I went in with fairly low expectations. I didn’t seek out a lot of information about it in the press and there hasn’t been an overwhelming amount of publicity for it either. So going in with those expectations led to the film exceeding them drastically.
Clocking in at nearly three hours leaves room for a lot of story and a with a surprise all-star cast (at least it was for me), it takes full advantage of this. While I don’t pretend to be the next Neil DeGrasse Tyson, I did enjoy how well it appeared to tie in Einstein’s theory of relativity as well as other advanced scientific concepts. Unlocking the potential makes the impossible possible and that’s what they are chasing. I thought the film was ambitious and layered and found it plenty suspenseful as it walked that fine like between confirming whether or not the phenomena are a result of man, another species, or a divine higher power.
The film in IMAX doesn’t look incredibly impressive on the screen, however the sound is what you’ll benefit from as the most immersive experience. All of the scenes in the spaceship are incredibly loud and it literally shake the room. You feel like you’re right there with them in the ship.
What I Didn’t Like:
The story itself I liked quite a bit. However many of the characters themselves fall a bit flat for me sometimes. Matthew McConaughey delivered a strong performance as Cooper, and his young daughter does too. Everyone appeared to have a purpose, however I could have done with less to make the story even tighter. The pacing was okay, but for me it did start slowly. I wasn’t gripped until after the first hour. But what it has in its corner is that it builds to the point where by the end you are on pins and needles about what will happen next.
Visually it is not as impressive to look at, especially compared to the likes of Gravity, but the story is way more interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing it again to pick up on things I may have missed.
Summary
If you love Nolan films then Interstellar is a must see. It is right in line with his style. I was able to accurately predict a few plot twists, but that made it all the more fun. I think this is now one of my favorite films of his, though I’ll always remain partial to The Prestige, which is still my #1 favorite (hard to compete with Christian Bale AND Hugh Jackman for me).
User Review
( votes)Images Courtesy of IMDB
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