some problems but a few great touches of 2001

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2015)

In the near future, Earth is devastated by blight where corn is the only surviving crop. Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former astronaut pilot who has turned to farming like everybody else. He and his daughter Murph find an underground NASA site run by Dr. John Brand (Michael Caine). Brand calculates that the blight will wipe out mankind in a generation. He is working on plans to save humanity after wormholes have been discovered leading to other worlds. Coop goes on a mission with Brand's daughter Dr. Amelia Brand (Anne Hathaway), Romilly and Doyle. However the mission runs into problems of relativity and sabotage. Meanwhile Murph (Jessica Chastain) grows up and tries to finish the calculations by Brand.
I have problems with the setup to this movie. The idea that everybody needs to turn into farmers seems laughable. There are all kinds of problems with the start. The blight seems to be a catch-all for Nolan to use as a tool to explain away whatever he needs. It's inelegant and clunky. Apparently, science is not necessary anymore in this world. It's not like this dystopian world has run out of oil. A lot of it seems unlikely.
Once McConaughey goes up into space, the movie gets better. It has touches of 2001 but generally, it is more like 2010. There are still some problems with unlikely human reactions. The whole conflict between Tom and Murph seems overblown. It's trying to up the drama without setting it up properly. I like McConaughey's side of the story. I would have preferred to stay mostly with him and lose some of Chastain's. I'm afraid the time relativity ideas may be lost on some of the audience. Even the best parts of the movie do have some nagging questions. It is still an awesome movie despite its problems. Although, I thought he might turn into a space baby at the end.