Interstellar

If you're wondering what all the hype is about, 'Interstellar' is an enormous movie. There's no two ways about it: you HAVE to see this film in the cinema, it's just one of those films. 

We were shown a live interview with director/producer/writer Christopher Nolan before the film and he made two things VERY clear: 1) the less you know about this film, the better and 2) he's aiming for something up there with the all time film greats, we're talking '2001: A Space Odyssey', 'Star Wars', 'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind' ect... science fiction that impacted cinema by showing us worlds that we had never seen before, a visual experience that no other form of media can create and suck us into the experience. While 'Interstellar' is not a perfect film, I believe I've seen an extraordinary film that lives up to the legacy of those classics. 

This movie is gorgeous, every frame will burn itself into your cerebral cortex and stay with you for days afterwards. The alien worlds and various spacecraft are well realised, it also has the most unique design for a robot I've seen in a film. Prepare for some stunningly beautiful (and tense as hell) space sequences, between this and 'Gravity' we've been quite frankly spoiled. Nolan's penchant for having as little greenscreen as possible has clearly paid off, everything looks real because it is real. If you have a theater showing this in Imax, you lucky bastard. Aiding the phenomenal visuals is Hans Zimmers bombastically operatic score, which while effective as f*ck when it comes to ratcheting up the tension seems determined to destroy your eardrums with every instrument in the orchestra, including an organ. Maybe it was the cinema but certain sections (like the rocket take-off scene) were so loud the seats shook. I advise you bring earmuffs with you! 

So pretty...

It's difficult to talk about the story because I'm sworn to secrecy (and the movie hasn't even come out yet), but it's so vast and intricate I doubt I could tell you anyway. This movie crams so much into it's three hour run time I felt mentally and emotionally exhausted coming out from it, everything from father/daughter relationships, various space-time concepts, gravity theories, other dimensions, ghosts, black holes, wormholes, life on other planets, survival, good vs evil, heart vs mind, sustainability of our planet's resources, paradoxes, to human instinct are touched upon.....what doesn't this movie talk about? As I said this is a monumentally massive film in both scope and scale, it's amazing it turned out as good as it did considering it's trying to cram 20 different threads into one movie. The focus of 'Interstellar' is all over the place, threads prominent in the beginning will be dropped halfway through and then become relevant again an hour later. The glue holding this behemoth of tangled concepts together is Matthew Mcconaughey's character Cooper, a space cowboy whose relationship with his daughter Murph back on earth serves as the beating heart and drive for the rest of the story. Mcconaughey gives one heck of a powerhouse performance in this film, which is saying something considering everyone in this cast is giving it their all. Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, *SPOILER* and Mackenzie Foy are all fantastic and brilliant in their own right but this is Mcconaughey's film. His desire to return to his family, much like Leonardo Dicaprio's Cobb in Nolan's previous film 'Inception', grounds the film emotionally as it risks involving only your brain instead of your heart. And no, Nolan can't make a film without having Michael Caine cry at some point, you'll be blabbing as well during that scene.  

Nolan's eagerness to present audiences with challenging material should be lauded but he might have gone a step too far here. In order to keep up with the mad intricacies of the plot you MUST pay attention at all times or else you'll be lost. I did my best but I completely lost the thread by the time the ending rolled around. Without spoiling anything I just don't see how A + B = C. That ending made no sense for me at least, which may or may not be my fault as by that point my brain was dribbling out of my ears thanks to the sheer onslaught of everything that happened in the two hours and a half beforehand. Suffice to say it pulls several cards out from under its hat and left me guessing as to where everything was heading. Once you finally reach that destination though, good luck figuring out what just happened!  

Also this film is long, it feels like I was stuck in that cinema for a day, like they somehow managed to distort space and time when the film started. It starts at a fairly brisk pace but suffers a bit from prolonged second and third acts packed with several moments that feel like they're building to the climax but actually aren't. It's never boring or any less than engaging, but be prepared for things to slow down a bit before the ending comes and blows your mind. 

'Interstellar' is a visually stunning epic that will transport you to the far reaches of space and back again. It's one heck of a ride that demands a lot from you so be prepared to have your socks blown off on several occasions. Christopher Nolan remains a master of his craft and blows the doors off any other movie I've seen this year. He's an incredible visionary of modern cinema, I can't wait to see his next project. 

Positives:

+ Matthew Mcconaughey, stellar cast in general 
+ Incredibly stimulating visuals  
+ Ambitious, unique script 
+ Really tense in parts
+ Several powerhouse moments
+ Intelligent, thought provoking 
+ Powerful score

Negatives:

- I didn't really understand that ending at all
- Wait, what just happened?!
- Slow middle
- The music is so loud it gave me a headache

Overall Score: 9/10