Note: Review written 11/26/2014
Christopher Nolan is one of the most noted directors in recent memory, known for his work in The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Memento, but Interstellar marks the most mixed of receptions that he has received for a film. I'll be honest in saying that I actually laughed whenever I heard that critics and moviegoers were mixed on this film. Technically, film fans responded with about the same reception they did for Inception, but Rotten Tomatoes has offered it up the worst percentage ever received for a Nolan film. The reason that I laughed about this is because deep-down, I wanted to dislike it. The reason is because the film was so widely advertised that I feel like it is all that I have been hearing about for the last year. I mean, I went to the theater a lot this year, and at least fifteen times, I saw a trailer for Interstellar, and after a while, I started to cringe at the sight of it. In the end though, Interstellar's reception doesn't completely mesh with what I thought about the film though.
Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy and Michael Caine. The script was a collaborative effort between Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, who have worked with one another previously in films like Memento. Anyway, Interstellar tells the story of a man named Cooper that runs a farm in a failing Agrarian society, even though he is capable at far greater things. Sooner or later, he discovers that NASA still operates to an extent and looking for a planet capable of sustaining human-life, which about the main aspects of the film. That is, Cooper leaving his family and heading on a space mission in the effort to find the new planet. Meanwhile, Professor Brand, played by Michael Caine, works on his research of gravitational singularity.
I remember prior to watching the film, I was afraid about the film being tedious or boring. I mean, the film spans longer than any other Nolan film, and while Nolan has proven capable of such a task before. I couldn't help but be a little leery about a three-hour movie about space travel. I am surprised though to say that I wasn't bored at all while watching Interstellar. Matthew McConaughey's performance is easily the best role of the whole film, which was to be expected, but I didn't anticipate the pinnacle of how many ranging emotions he was able to convey in the film. I remember being absolutely run through the ringer by the end of it. Some of the moments had me laughing, like in the beginning when he has a parent-teacher conference for his daughter. Or feeling immensely depressed, which happens a lot throughout the whole film. The other actors are capable of conveying emotion in their own right, Anne Hathaway does particularly well, and I ended up walking away with amused memories of Matt Damon's role. It's all just a little surprising to see how much I actually liked the characters in this one.
In-fact, I remember when they first started to leave Earth, I leaned over toward my friend who was watching the movie with me and actually said, "I want them to go back to Earth," because I was so amused by the human-aspects of the characters and thought that it'd go downhill once the more overbearing aspects fall into it. I am happy to say that I found for the special-effects and the science-fiction aspects about it. I know a lot of critics and science aficionados have been praising the accuracy that it carries with it. In-fact, I read a lot of what they said and I think some might really appreciate the amount of effort that went into the authenticity of it all. Likewise, I appreciate it, but I've never really care about the accuracy that a science-fiction film has. In the end though, I like a lot of the ideology and concepts that went into the whole ordeal. I mean, when I saw the trailers, I thought that the film itself looked cut-out and straightforward. Like it told me everything that there was to see and the film would be more of an 'along the ride' type film without surprises or anything that I hadn't already seen.
Fortunately, that isn't at all the case, and the film actually had a whole lot of cool concepts in it that I wouldn't have predicted based on the trailers. This film's ambition is monumental. Legitimately, it could be one of the most ambitious films that I have ever seen with the amount of stuff that it attempts, and I think it succeeds to astronomical extents, even if it doesn't flawlessly capture everything. There was never a chance of that happening, but I definitely don't think the film falls short by a whole lot. I had so many feelings in this film that it's difficult to say anything except that it was a terrific film. I was happy, sad, and at moments, absolutely thrilled with the amount of suspense it induced. I think one of the biggest delights for me is that the run-time doesn't kill the whole film. There are a lot of films where I am wanting it to end, but this one, not once did I wonder how far I was into it or anything like that. I was immersed from beginning to end.
There were some criticisms that were had by some about the sound issues. Personally, I only encountered one occasion that really bothered me and that was when Michael Caines' character was talking to Anne Hathaway in what was a scene of larger importance to the film's plot. I don't know whether or not it was an editing issue or a matter of Caine sounding like he was gargling marbles. I can't say that it didn't temporarily throw me off, but it wasn't too big of an issue. Other-wise though, I didn't really encounter any issues. Some said that the special-effects outweighed the dialogue, and made it difficult to make things out, but I didn't encounter anything.
In summary, I didn't leave the theater thinking that Interstellar was my favorite film from Christopher Nolan. There's so many that I have enjoyed, but I do think it is one of his most ambitious to date, and probably about as unique a concept as Memento was. The acting is superb and the special-effects are exhilarating. As far as critical reception goes, they're mixed, but for me, personally, I think Interstellar is another tally-mark in the win column for the director, as well as the actors involved.
Thanks for reading...
Rating: Very Good
Christopher Nolan is one of the most noted directors in recent memory, known for his work in The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Memento, but Interstellar marks the most mixed of receptions that he has received for a film. I'll be honest in saying that I actually laughed whenever I heard that critics and moviegoers were mixed on this film. Technically, film fans responded with about the same reception they did for Inception, but Rotten Tomatoes has offered it up the worst percentage ever received for a Nolan film. The reason that I laughed about this is because deep-down, I wanted to dislike it. The reason is because the film was so widely advertised that I feel like it is all that I have been hearing about for the last year. I mean, I went to the theater a lot this year, and at least fifteen times, I saw a trailer for Interstellar, and after a while, I started to cringe at the sight of it. In the end though, Interstellar's reception doesn't completely mesh with what I thought about the film though.
Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy and Michael Caine. The script was a collaborative effort between Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, who have worked with one another previously in films like Memento. Anyway, Interstellar tells the story of a man named Cooper that runs a farm in a failing Agrarian society, even though he is capable at far greater things. Sooner or later, he discovers that NASA still operates to an extent and looking for a planet capable of sustaining human-life, which about the main aspects of the film. That is, Cooper leaving his family and heading on a space mission in the effort to find the new planet. Meanwhile, Professor Brand, played by Michael Caine, works on his research of gravitational singularity.
I remember prior to watching the film, I was afraid about the film being tedious or boring. I mean, the film spans longer than any other Nolan film, and while Nolan has proven capable of such a task before. I couldn't help but be a little leery about a three-hour movie about space travel. I am surprised though to say that I wasn't bored at all while watching Interstellar. Matthew McConaughey's performance is easily the best role of the whole film, which was to be expected, but I didn't anticipate the pinnacle of how many ranging emotions he was able to convey in the film. I remember being absolutely run through the ringer by the end of it. Some of the moments had me laughing, like in the beginning when he has a parent-teacher conference for his daughter. Or feeling immensely depressed, which happens a lot throughout the whole film. The other actors are capable of conveying emotion in their own right, Anne Hathaway does particularly well, and I ended up walking away with amused memories of Matt Damon's role. It's all just a little surprising to see how much I actually liked the characters in this one.
In-fact, I remember when they first started to leave Earth, I leaned over toward my friend who was watching the movie with me and actually said, "I want them to go back to Earth," because I was so amused by the human-aspects of the characters and thought that it'd go downhill once the more overbearing aspects fall into it. I am happy to say that I found for the special-effects and the science-fiction aspects about it. I know a lot of critics and science aficionados have been praising the accuracy that it carries with it. In-fact, I read a lot of what they said and I think some might really appreciate the amount of effort that went into the authenticity of it all. Likewise, I appreciate it, but I've never really care about the accuracy that a science-fiction film has. In the end though, I like a lot of the ideology and concepts that went into the whole ordeal. I mean, when I saw the trailers, I thought that the film itself looked cut-out and straightforward. Like it told me everything that there was to see and the film would be more of an 'along the ride' type film without surprises or anything that I hadn't already seen.
Fortunately, that isn't at all the case, and the film actually had a whole lot of cool concepts in it that I wouldn't have predicted based on the trailers. This film's ambition is monumental. Legitimately, it could be one of the most ambitious films that I have ever seen with the amount of stuff that it attempts, and I think it succeeds to astronomical extents, even if it doesn't flawlessly capture everything. There was never a chance of that happening, but I definitely don't think the film falls short by a whole lot. I had so many feelings in this film that it's difficult to say anything except that it was a terrific film. I was happy, sad, and at moments, absolutely thrilled with the amount of suspense it induced. I think one of the biggest delights for me is that the run-time doesn't kill the whole film. There are a lot of films where I am wanting it to end, but this one, not once did I wonder how far I was into it or anything like that. I was immersed from beginning to end.
There were some criticisms that were had by some about the sound issues. Personally, I only encountered one occasion that really bothered me and that was when Michael Caines' character was talking to Anne Hathaway in what was a scene of larger importance to the film's plot. I don't know whether or not it was an editing issue or a matter of Caine sounding like he was gargling marbles. I can't say that it didn't temporarily throw me off, but it wasn't too big of an issue. Other-wise though, I didn't really encounter any issues. Some said that the special-effects outweighed the dialogue, and made it difficult to make things out, but I didn't encounter anything.
In summary, I didn't leave the theater thinking that Interstellar was my favorite film from Christopher Nolan. There's so many that I have enjoyed, but I do think it is one of his most ambitious to date, and probably about as unique a concept as Memento was. The acting is superb and the special-effects are exhilarating. As far as critical reception goes, they're mixed, but for me, personally, I think Interstellar is another tally-mark in the win column for the director, as well as the actors involved.
Thanks for reading...
Rating: Very Good
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