Modern 2001: A Space Odyssey!

Rating: 8/10 (13 November 2014)

Interstellar is basically the more intellectual version of The Core from 2003 with much better effects. The story is very similar. In both movies the Earth is dying. To save it a secret organization funded by the government assembles a team of scientists, of which most are used for cannon fodder, to save the planet. The only differences are that instead of traveling to the core of the Earth they go into space. Plus, Interstellar is a more intellectual and thought-provoking piece than a summer blockbuster which was what The Core was. There are many similarities to 2001: A Space Odyssey as well. I think Nolan really tried to make this the modern 2001 and his fans really want this to be too. Overall, I think this film is better than 2001 besides the ending which I'll get to. This film has better character thus more of a reason to be invested. Interstellar is definitely an ambitious movie for Nolan even more than Inception was. I think it succeeds in most of what it set out to do, but does fall a bit short in a couple areas.
The general story is very simple, though it gets vastly more complicated towards the climax. The Earth is slowly dying due to pollution and the only viable food growing now is corn. A farmer named Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former astronaut who dreams of going into space, is recruited by NASA who the public think is shut down but is secretly still getting funded by the government as a back-up plan. Cooper and a team of astronauts, including a woman named Brand (Anne Hathaway), travel to Saturn where an artificial wormhole in space has opened-up that will take them to another galaxy. In this galaxy there are a few potentially habitable worlds they hope to explore to save humanity.
The main selling point is the effects which are breathtaking. Like films like Gravity or Jurassic Park this is a film that you should see in theaters just to experience the awesome effects. The film sounds great and has a terrific score; though it can get make scenes seem too over-dramatic at times. I will say that this is a better-looking movie than Avatar. Plus, unlike Avatar, Interstellar has more to offer than just the spectacle.
The acting is also superb. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, and the rest of the cast all do fantastic performance-wise and I did like all of the characters. I even enjoyed the side cast even though most of them were there just to die and provide drama. I think this has to do with the actors and how well they sold the characters.
However, I do have a couple issues in regards to the story. The story itself is great but it could've been executed better in some areas. While I enjoyed the side character, most had no reason to be there and were basically used for cannon fodder. Also the film was too long. There were many scenes and story elements that felt irrelevant. When they go through the worm hole and enter the other galaxy they have three worlds to choose from and they go to every single one which takes at least twenty minutes for each. While, from a visual perspective, it was amazing seeing all these different worlds and it did provide some drama. However, in terms of the overall the story it felt mostly like padding. The point is the movie did not need to be almost three hours.
Lastly, there was one story element I was not really a fan of which ties into the ending, which is the "ghost" subplot. I know it has to do with time which is one of the main plot elements of the film. However, the way it's presented in the film is a bit weird and silly compared to the rest of the film. Plus they didn't explain it as well as they should've making it rather confusing. I know complicated is virtually Nolan's trademark, but I still felt that he made the film more complicated than it needed to be. It is already a strong film without the twist at the ending involving the "ghost" plot point. It really felt like Nolan was trying for a 2001 ending. Even though I like this film more I do think the ending to 2001 was done better than the ending of Interstellar.
Overall, Interstellar is a pretty well-done space adventure. It was an amazing visual ride, the acting was great, I liked the majority of the characters, and it had some intriguing ideas and good drama. However, some of its ideas aren't explored or explained enough I felt. Many of the side characters, while likable, feel shoehorned in. Plus the film went on a bit too long and the ending could've been better. Even with those issues I still highly recommend the film and suggest you see it in theaters. It's a great experience.