A film I had to digest which for all its grandeur left me feeling unconnected to the characters and their dilemmas.

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2014)

It seemed everyone was looking forward to this movie and it reminded me of the hysteria leading up to Prometheus. Not wanting to inflict on myself that kind of disappointment again I choose to read or watch as little about the film as possible, having seen just an early trailer for it. I made sure I saw it on the biggest screen possible, on one of the few 70mm prints in Europe (Of which we were told there were only 4) It was too a packed out house, a good mix of all ages but a very serious looking audience none the less. I had a feeling we were in for an amazing ride so I took my wife to see it not wanting her to miss out on what might be the cinema event of the year. Like the Astronauts in the film I too wanted to know what was out there.
The setting, as I am sure you know, is in earths near future, where most of the planet is ravaged by dust storms and the worlds food supply is nearing its end (Pretty similar to where we will be in a few years I am sure) most of the worlds population are farmers, keen to support its diminishing population, but time is running out and in secret the Government (America of course) is looking to the stars for answers and the discovery of a Black Hole may indeed prove our way out. Matthew McConaughey is the man who can, but he's gone back to farming and looking after his son and daughter. He's the best pilot, but if he goes he knows when he comes back his children will be older than he is, if they're still alive at all.
So Interstella seems to offer us two dilemma's - the first being what is out there and can it offer us a future? The second being about personal sacrifice for the greater good and how do you know when it is worth it?
I wanted more of the first and less of the second, but we seemed to get far too much of the second which was less engaging than the exploration of space and what there was of the first wasn't engaging enough. Every time the movie went back to earth it seemed to slow down, much like time in the movie. The first 45 minutes of the movie feels like the weakest. Some of the dialogue really is quite awful and seems so fake. I like McConaughey as an actor and the cast here are good, but the script really lets them down on some key moments especially early on. Interstella is a visual feast and if I was rating it on that alone it would get a straight 10 out of 10 but emotionally except for one key scene when messages from children long since aged are received by the characters it left me cold much of the time. The appearance of Matt Damon and his characters motivations were actually obvious to me and when they happened seemed more in place with Armageddon and an attempt to introduce drama for sake alone. For all its spectacle on the huge screen this was not a film that grabbed me and pulled me in and I so badly wanted it to. Yes some worlds are explored and its all water and ice, okay probably very scientific but exciting? I am not so sure and the supporting characters began to have the feel of Star Trek security detail and perhaps they should have been wearing red shirts as they all seem so expendable. Wes Bently really stood out for me here, I wanted to see more of him as he is so watchable and interesting on screen without really feeling the need to perform. The robots in the film were great and loved the way they functioned and were a nod to 2001.
By the time we were into the last reel my wife had been to sleep three times, so this clearly wasn't her film. I was more engaged, but only just. People have pointed out the plot holes and yes there's many, but its really not those that bother me so much. I am not a Sci-Fi nerd, I am only interested in the world the film maker has created for me and if in its own context I believed that - I did believe it but I just didn't really like it that much - Ultimately maybe love does conquer all but for me, not here.
I probably need to see the film again - I am just not sure that I want to.