The Ultimate Journey

Rating: 9/10 (7 November 2014)

I won't be objective about this. I think Nolan saved modern filmmaking from mediocrity. He has shown that being epic is an option, whether you succeed or not (there is a blunder around him). It is a way of expression, and at the end of the day it is all about quality, plain and simple.
Interstellar is an example, a story with such a scope it literally transcends space and time. Mankind is in a delicate situation. Environment issues and gravitational anomalies threat the very existence of the human race. The only salvation might be a bold mission through a wormhole near Saturn, and investigate what is beyond. The ultimate journey, an interstellar one...
As usual, Nolan works with top-notch pros, a highly awarded cast, including McConaughey, Caine, Hathaway and some surprising cameos. Wally Pfister, the usual D.O.P. of Nolan, was busy with his debut "Trascendence" (2014), but Hans Zimmer repeats as the score master. And he makes it again, a glorious score, though it tends to copy the music from "2001: A Space Odissey" (Stanley Kubrick, 1968). It is not a perfect score as the one he wrote for "Inception" (2010), but it works.
As for the movie itself, there is just one thing I did not like. An entire section of the film could be cut out and would not really affect the rest of the story, and we are talking about forty minutes, but then again, it is an opinion and I am sure some fanatics will try to come after me carrying torches. Other than that, this is a story in which we find drama, thrill and stunning visuals (the design of the robots is amazing, they become characters, just like the rest of the cast). Science-fiction is based on actual scientific theories, from black holes, relativity etc. (even Dr. De Grasse Tyson would approve it). So Nolan is behind another "tour de force" of excess, proof that to him, it is all or nothing.
Nolan has been compared to Kubrick as they both shared a taste for breathtaking visuals, and also a passion for his projects, though with different approaches (Kubrick was far more unsociable). It is not for me to decide if that is true, but I know that with this film, Nolan proves himself to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Once again, as it happened with "Inception"(2010), just trying to undertake such a task is enough to get an Oscar award. No matter if you have the tools and the resources, this is about having a vision and going for it. Another masterpiece of modern filmmaking.