A visually stunning piece that lacks ... Something?

Rating: 6/10 (7 November 2014)

Interstellar marks the return of director Christopher Nolan, who, in my opinion, has crafted some of the best Hollywood blockbusters in recent years. This seems to me like Nolan truly out of his comfort zone. There is a difference with Interstellar. This isn't main stream science fiction like Star Wars, however it also isn't quite like Stanley Kubrick's 2001. Some are calling it 'The new 2001', which is inaccurate. This film is its own story, a tale of survival, a tale of family.
Matthew McConaughey stars as Coop, a widowed pilot who has been degraded to a mere farmer. The Earth is in dire need of resources, as we have spent them all, meaning that, as professor Brand tells Coop, 'his daughter's generation will be the last to survive on Earth.' This means that Coop will need to embark on a journey with the remnants of NASA, to search for a habitable planet, through a conveniently discovered wormhole close to Saturn. This means that he will have to abandon everything, his daughter, Murph, and his son, Tom, and let me just say that he really shines in this role, accompanied by solid performances from Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain, and Mackenzie Foy, among others.
That is as far as I will go without getting into spoiler territory. The beauty is that if you've managed to avoid spoiler-filled reviews, you virtually have no idea what you're in for, meaning that in some way, you go through the journey with the characters. And we can start off by saying that this film looks absolutely incredible. I was fortunate enough to see this in 70mm IMAX, and if there ever was a format to see this film in, that would be it. The Dutch cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who has replaced Nolan's usual DoP Wally Pfister, has created some truly memorable images with this film. The visual effects were absolutely breathtaking, too. Seeing a little white dot, representing the spacecraft, The Endurance, against the enormity of Saturn literally took my breath away. The wormhole, the black hole, everything looks incredible.
The sound is something I would like to touch on, too. The quietness of space has never been louder, all accompanied by Hans Zimmer's subtle score, which is the best I've heard from him for a long time. You truly feel like you're taking off in a rocket taking off with the thundering roar the engines give away.
The emotional core of Interstellar sets it apart from other sci-fi films, too. It is essentially a story of a father who leaves behind his family for the greater good, and damn, is it heartbreaking to watch! Through Matthew McConaughey's performance, you can really see the struggle of Coop, and with some cheesy moments ("Love is the one thing that transcends time and space") as well as a few script errors and a weirdly annoying performance from Casey Affleck, it all comes together as a very well-thought out, experimental film, that to its core, is about a father's struggle to save his children.
Pros: visually stunning, a technical masterpiece, strong performances, intriguing storytelling, stellar (pun intended) soundtrack.
Cons: Some script errors along the way, a little too cheesy.