"Frequency" re-imagined in space.

Rating: 7/10 (9 November 2014)

Interstellar is gorgeous to look at, and with lip-reading skills and hearing protection, fun to see. However, the soundtrack is so utterly overwhelming (drowning out dialogue in MANY instances; many people around me were covering their ears. Just too much. Just too precious. Very strange, as apparently Nolan went to various theaters (The Chinese in particular) to screen it to adjust the sound before the opening. He must be deaf.
The pacing of this film is off too - with some scenes being interminable and other, seemingly important parts being totally glossed over. The build up is massively let down. When I realized where he was - if I'd not already sat through 2.5 hours of this - I'd have walked out. It was like Nolan just threw his hands up and commanded "Ok tie all this together!" Very disappointing.
It is being touted as an updated, improved 2001: A Space Odyssey. Nothing could be further from the truth (though there are many moments (sonically and visually) that are fairly obvious Kubrick homages). No - this is an updated, VASTLY improved version of "Frequency." Let's see if anyone is talking about Nolan (or Interstellar) in 35 years.
Mackenzie Foy is brilliant as Murphy, and is easily one of the best "child" performances I've ever seen. McConaughey delivers too. In fact, all of the acting is extremely good and very convincing.
The special effects are stellar. Visually - I often was amazed to remind myself that I was looking at CGI. It IS well worth seeing in a theater on a big screen. I might wait a week or two to see if they can get the sound balance fixed. (I saw it at the Cinderamdome in Los Angeles, 70mm Film. In fairness, the sound issues illuminated that the 'dome has an AMAZING audio system - zero distortion, and easily as loud as MANY concerts I've attended).
A very good movie unfortunately let down by poor sound editing and pacing errors. Generally - a movie with problems as large as this wouldn't rate above a five - and that's even more disappointing - it's just a few (albeit large) issues away from a nine.
Obviously - there'll be a sequel.