Movie Review: Interstellar
Interstellar is the kind of movie that you really shouldn’t think about too much, but you just can’t help it. It is one of the most mesmerizing movie experiences I’ve seen in years, and in the moment as the plot is unfolding everything seems to make sense. But thinking about the film after you leave the theater, things start to seem kind of silly and everything doesn’t really add up. This is actually a common occurrence with director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), and to really enjoy his movies you just have to forget about logic and just go with it.
Matthew McConaughey plays a former astronaut in a future that sees the earth in it’s last days. It is being destroyed by some sort of dust that I don’t think is ever fully explained. I don’t think anything in this movie is ever fully explained. Now a simple farmer with two kids, he finds himself embarking on a space expedition to save mankind from extinction, in the process leaving his children who aren’t too happy to be abandoned on a dying planet.
It’s hard to go into the plot without spoiling the movie, so I’ll just say that for me the movie lost me in the final 30 minutes. There are some amazing moments throughout (including a surprise cameo from one of America’s favorite actors), my favorite of which is an attempt by McConaughey to dock into a spinning space station. It was the most suspenseful and awe-inspiring moment I’ve seen in a movie in a while. But what really makes the movie work for me is that it has more heart and emotion then I’ve come to expect from a Christopher Nolan movie. McConaughey’s performance is a huge part of that. He is a great actor who is finally starting to make some great movies. This movie needed a lead who could pull the audience in and McConaughey does just that. Without him, I don’t think the movie would have worked for me.
A few notes: The sound was a big problem for me, and I’ve heard this from others as well. Often times the bass was so loud that it completely drowned out the dialog and even hurt my ears at moments. Also, I’m told that this movie should be seen in 70mm IMAX for the best experience, and I saw it on an old-fashioned standard format screen.
Grade: B+