Thrilling and Original

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2014)

Movie theaters are constantly trying to figure out how to get butts in their seats. So they've added alcohol, better food, louder sound and luxury reclining seats (the best innovation, IMHO). I have a solution on how to get more butts into theater seats...
Make more movies like INTERSTELLAR!
Christopher Nolan's space epic was made to be seen on the big screen, with big screen sound and visuals. It tells 2 stories in 1. The first movie is a sci-fi thriller along the lines of CONTACT, GRAVITY and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. The 2nd movie is a father/daughter relationship story that brings much needed heart to the spectacle.
Matthew McConaughy is well cast in the lead as Astronaut (and father) Cooper. The "McConnassaince" continues as he is able to capture and hold the screen against the stunning visuals and sound that is the hallmark of this movie.
Director Christopher Nolan continues his penchant for creating real (not green screen) effects and it shows in the visceral nature of the action scenes. The visuals are eye-popping, the sound is appropriately jarring and the effect is stunning - especially a spinning space station rescue scene that is every bit as "roller coaster exciting" as was last year's GRAVITY.
The father/daughter relationship between McConaughey and Jessica Chastain is grounded and real, reminiscent of the relationship of Jodie Foster and David Morse in CONTACT. Chastain grounds this movie on Earth while McConaughey is driving through space. Her scenes with Michael Caine, Casey Affleck and a surprisingly good Topher Grace make the Earth-bound scenes terrific.
But, make no mistake, the thrill of this movie is following Cooper and fellow astronauts Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley and David Gyasli on their quest to the stars to save the planet. Special notice should be made of the vocal work that the always-interesting Bill Irwin does with the robot TARS. He nearly steals this movie from his human co-horts, part HAL, part R2-D2, without being annoying.
The first 4/5 of this movie is a somewhat "realistic" sci-fi adventure, while the last part is a fantastical "what if" through the wormhole, reminiscent of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. I've heard complaints of this part of the movie. My argument is this: if you've accepted the premise of the first parts of this movie, then roll with the last part and you'll be entertained, indeed.
Just remember, you'll be MORE entertained if you catch this in a movie theatre.
9 (out of 10 stars) and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis).