Such a brilliant concept, very few people understand it

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2015)

Interstellar brings back the way science fiction and adventure films use to be made. The story is about Cooper, a frustrated former NASA pilot/engineer who is forced to be a farmer in not-to- distant future. Technology has let the human race down, as society focuses on growing crops for the ever expanding population, rather then exploration. Even in school, children are taught the future is here on earth, not in the stars. It's that exploration in all of us, which is squelched and leads to Coopers internal frustration.
A seemingly random anomaly leads Cooper to discover a hidden NASA base, where the plot thickens and a rescue mission is being launched with a bunch of rookies/scientists in order to figure out what happened to a lost mission sent into a mysterious black hole, only a few years earlier. They were in search of an inhabitable world to "move" the population of earth onto or build a new colony from scratch using embryo's. They were in need of a mission commander and Cooper wanting to explore in order to save earth, decides to leave his boring farmer life to his son and head into space with the rookies.
What starts out as a few year rescue mission to determine what happened to the lost crew, turns into a multi-decade train-wreck. Explorers hoping to find "new worlds" which can sustain life and in reality finding nothing but uninhabitable planets. Further frustration ensues when the project developer and lead scientist admits his data was faulty and the whole journey was for nothing. Having wasted so much time on a futile mission, turning back towards home seemed almost irrelevant.
From that point to the end is Nolan's big secret, which can be summed up in a quick paragraph. There had been an on-going conflict on earth between scientists at NASA about gravity and how to control it. The data they needed to make the experiments a success, couldn't be gathered without going to the center of the black hole and taking readings. However, how does one get those readings back to earth? This is the most interesting and exciting premise of the entire film, one of which I will absolutely not spoil. Suffice to say, it's very self explanatory and quite an interesting concept.
The frustrating part about Interstellar has nothing to do with the film itself, it has to do with the public perception of the film. Christopher Nolan has admitted several times, the concept for Interstellar will go over the heads of an average audience member. The studio wasn't concerned and they clearly funded his new adventure, knowing without a doubt, it would be a success. So far it's revenues are over half a billion dollars world wide, so he has done something right.
Interstellar is a film you have to see more then once. Extremely important details are given in a glance, or a single line of dialog. The absolutely fantastic score and brilliant cinematography are so engrossing and overpowering, it's very difficult to hear the dialog. Nolan very cleverly uses music/effects, editing and shot composition to heighten excitement within a given scene. Some may find it over-powering and thus difficult to comprehend.
My first screening at the Cinerama Dome in 70mm, I was blown away. Just the concept was awe inspiring, what he tried to tackle in one film was an immense subject matter. Part of me wished he had split it into two haves like an old roadshow film. On second viewing, same theater, same print with a different group of people, it was even better. I absolutely love how the film physically hits you in the gut with it's pipe organ soundtrack, the deep bass of the sound effects, the beauty of the shots, it's just a stunning film to witness. On third viewing in IMAX 70mm, there was even more discovery. I watched the film from a more objective position, nitpicking it apart, trying to find the holes/flaws people complained about, but I simply couldn't.
People complain about this film because they're not interested in making an investment. They're only interested in stuffing their mouths with popcorn and shutting off their brains. With 2001: A Space Odyssey, there is a clear antagonist, it's a computer, something we've seen dozens of times. In interstellar, the antagonist is time itself, which is a hard concept to get through general audiences. We think three dimensionally and adding the fifth dimension of time, is something a lot of people are unwilling to think about. It's too bad for them because Interstellar is a brilliant film and worthy of further praise if only people understood it better.
Christopher Nolan has never really been one of my favorite directors. His films have always been lacking in one way or another, little things that could have been better. For me Interstellar is not only his best movie so far, but it's a very "adult" film. It's not about super hero's, it's not an action film with gun swinging or violence this film is thinking-man's adventure, for those who are willing to make the mental investment.