In a galaxy far far away

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2014)

Christopher Nolan takes few prisoners in his movies. INTERSTELLAR assumes the viewer is familiar with the theory of relativity and the notion of fifth and sixth dimensions. So - a challenge to sit through for close to three hours. A challenge that tests - but rewards - the audience.
Nolan pays homage to a whole raft of space movies, notably Kubrick's 2001 and Robert Zemeckis's CONTACT, with a time-continuum twist that I remember from a John Wyndham story called (I think) CHRONOCLASM. Although rarely boring, the film is a bit longer than it needs to be. There's a subplot involving Matt Damon in the galaxy far far away that seems clunky, and the science goes a bit wonky when McConaughey jumps into a Black Hole (perhaps Black Holes are open to reinterpretation).
Where Nolan really hits the button is in the brave avoidance of 21st- century CGI in favour of some fine old-fashioned Special Effects. This gives INTERSTELLAR a lot of the visual magic that made 2001 such a mind- blowing voyage into the mysteries of the infinite.