Interstellar

“Do not go gentle into that good night…” - Spoken by Michael Caine’s character in this movie.

Interstellar didn’t “go gentle” by any means.

It was perhaps the most ambitious movie I’ve seen all year; and I can’t get enough of it. 

First things first, this movie was out of this world. Please keep reading. I’m sorry. That pun made itself. If you haven’t seen it, go see it without knowing anything about it. I’m so glad that’s how I did it. That's why I didn't include a trailer in this review. Go. Shoo.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Seriously though: there were so many fantastic aspects of this movie. It looked beautiful, from the dust bowl-esque Earth to the depths of outer space. When the Endurance (McConaughey’s ship) entered the wormhole, my jaw hit the floor. Nolan harnesses the sense of wonderment of space and captures it beautifully, with many nods to Kubrick’s 2001: “A Space Odyssey”. In some of my favorite shots, the Endurance is a tiny blip on the screen, sailing alone through “the final frontier”. Nolan knows how to make his audience feel small.

I was also impressed with the lighting; in lieu of the futuristic, bright white spaceship the movies typically portray, the Endurance comes off as a more realistic, gritty, dim spacecraft. In this aspect, the ship isn’t too different from the world it leaves behind. 

I had the honor and privilege in seeing this masterpiece in 70 mm IMAX film, and it looked beautiful…

One thing I really appreciated was that Nolan emitted all the space stereotypes; Interstellar is way different than “Gravity” in that no time is spent focused on the absence of gravity or the view of Earth from above. Nolan makes this space movie his own and doesn’t depend on space gimmicks to keep it interesting. Even the takeoff sequence is unique and original; the sound of the ship and the countdown can be heard as Cooper driving away from his farm crying is seen on screen. It cuts right to the chase. 

I loved the sound in Interstellar; Nolan combines great sound effects (like having no sound in space) with an incredible soundtrack by Hans Zimmer.

Hans Zimmer is a genius. The soundtrack to this movie is right up there next to the greatness of “Inception”. Zimmer uses the organ to make an iconic sound for this movie.

One of my few complaints for this movie had to do with sound; across the nation there were numerous claims that at some times the dialogue couldn’t be heard over the music and bass. For the majority of the movie this wasn’t a problem for me, but in one particular scene with Michael Caine on his deathbed I couldn’t make out what he was saying. This will most likely be buffed out for the DVD release.

As for the acting, everyone was spectacular. Caine is perfect for the poem he recites multiple times, and Hathaway and McConaughey (McConaughey especially) were able to bring some unexpected emotional moments into the film. Matt Damon’s surprise cameo was very well done; I was very surprised both at Damon’s appearance and performance and that Nolan was able to keep that a secret. 

As for the plot, there are always going to be minor plot holes in a movie about black holes and wormholes and time travel and inter-dimensional beings. However, as confusing as the premises of the plot are, the plot itself is not difficult to follow at all. Small plot holes aren’t easy to see unless you’re looking for them. 

A brief tangent - the robots in this movie were insane cool; the design was awesome and they were a fantastic source of comedic relief. 

Though the whole “love transcends spacetime” thing was pretty cheesy, I still liked Hathaway’s speech. Love is a big theme in the movie; for Brandt, it was her love for Edmunds. For Cooper, it was his fatherly love for Murph. At is essence, this movie is all about the relationship between father and child. I got a little choked up at the end when Cooper asks Murph, “How did you know I was coming back?” and Murph replies “Because my Dad promised me”. I’m a sucker for happy endings. 

The only thing I really had a problem with was Cooper stumbling upon NASA’s top secret base and immediately being instituted as the captain of the ship that is the only hope of saving mankind. But after the rest of the movie, this was the least of my worries. 

This movie isn’t perfect, but it was pretty close for me and it will win an Oscar for something. Interstellar will be a classic in the future, something I’ll show my grandkids. 

For now, I’ll be happy to buy it on Bluray and proud to hang a poster on my wall.

p.s. The film has a lot of biblical symbolism. Google it if you get a chance.

“Do not go gentle into that good night, 

Old age should burn and rage at close of day; 

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”




REDDIT TIME: my favorite comments of an Interstellar discussion thread.