A true cinematic masterpiece - flawless from start to finish

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2019)

Interstellar doesn't put a foot wrong, a brilliant 169 minutes covering space, survival and raw human emotion. Hans Zimmer's near-perfect soundtrack is the ideal accompaniment to these epic scenes, adding drama and gravity to every meticulous shot. Equally, the storyline is beyond gripping, a brutally believable tale of a desperate, dying race driven to do anything for survival, balanced against what a father would do for his children.
Christopher Nolan's vision of a dying Earth is a stark blend of oranges and greens - crop fields stretching for miles, only to be overwhelmed by the towering dust storms. Leaving Earth, space (and indeed the planets visited) are all equally magical in their own unique ways: Miller's aquatic landscape is eerily bleak, whilst Mann's ice planet is as mind-bending as it is picturesque. Space travel is also done true justice, using wide-angle shots to both convey the vastness of space and the insignificance of man.
Matthew McConaughey was practically built for this role, a farmer-turned-engineer trying to juggle saving earth and saving his family; his interactions with Brand (Anne Hathaway) and his daughter Murphy (Jessica Chastain) define the film, testing the strengths of human relationships and their value, even over the distances of space. Credit must also be given to TARS (Bill Irwin), a superbly written, pseudo-sentient robot that becomes as integral a member of the crew as any other.
Interstellar is arguably the best sci-fi/space film ever created, superb in every way. The reported scientific accuracy Nolan paid attention to when writing the film is the icing on the cake, allowing the plot to be full lived - unlike anything that has come before.