Great Start- Horrible ending

Rating: 6/10 (3 February 2017)

Interstellar is without question one of the better films I have seen, however the plot held it back from being what could have been a fantastic movie. Even so, I did enjoy my experience and felt the movie's theme of not giving up hope was nice.
Let's get the plot out of the way now seeing how it is my primary gripe with this film. Around 50 years in the future the Earth is faced with worldwide Dust Bowl situation, everything is dyeing and within the next few centuries the Earth won't be able to produce any kind food. At the same time, a worm-hole created by an advanced civilization is created near Saturn, giving humanity a chance to survive. Now it's up to the only living pilot with experience, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), brilliant scientist Brand (Anne Hathaway), and a few other supporting casts to find a new planet through the worm- hole.
Throughout the film, there are multiple deaths that our main characters just completely forget about after they happen. Doyle, one of the 4 people sent on the ship dies on the first planet. A huge deal is made out this, however we never hear anything about him afterward. Same thing goes for Romilly and Dr. Manne. This would make sense if the story took place over a long period of time, however basically no times goes by for Cooper or Brand between the first death and the third.
The ending is even worse than the forgotten deaths. We realize humans created the worm-hole, are giving Cooper the keys to save humanity by bending time using gravity and telling Murph the answer she has been looking for. Cooper escapes the black-hole to find himself in the future where Murph saves humanity by creating colonies. We forget about any supporting characters such as Cooper's son, have a touching moment with the almost dead Murph, and immediately think about saving Brand who has been doing who knows what on her planet. I feel if this movie could have been much better with more time. Characters could have reacted towards the deaths of others more and the ending could have been much better.
The acting is the one thing that kept me truly interested in this film. McConaughey plays his role fantastically with Hathaway and Chastain following right behind. Their acting is the saving grace of this film. I barely noticed the problems I pointed out with the plot because I was so into the acting.
I also enjoyed the theme of the film. The entire story is basically an example of never giving up. If at any given point our characters had stopped, humanity would not have survived. Their perseverance is what saved the human race. You could argue the poem that is constantly repeated is another tool used to push this theme. Lighting is used very well in this film to show the theme. During themes where the characters are about to give up hope, the lighting is slightly darker than normal. At the end where humanity is saved, everything is extremely bright. Fast-forwarding at the beginning of the movie shows that they were successful in the end even though you don't realize until later who is talking. This acts just as proof for the theme.
Overall I really enjoyed this film, however I would not recommend it to everyone. The plot would have ruined the film for me if the acting wasn't there to support it. If you want to watch a film that shares the never give up on hope theme, The Shawshank Redemption is a good recommendation.