Nolan's grand, hugely ambitious, awesome, optimistic, heart wreching, flawed homage to Kubrick and Spielberg

Rating: 9/10 (12 November 2014)

INTERSTELLAR isn't Christopher Nolan's best film, nor is it his worst. What INTERSTELLAR is is a grand, hugely ambitious, awe- inspring, optimistic, heart wrenching, flawed homage to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and Steven Spielberg's CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Fans of Nolan's previous work may be a little put off by how openly this film wears its heart on its sleeve, but Nolan pulls off the trickiest of balancing acts, making you care as equally as possible between the human drama between a father and a daughter (very Spielbergian) and the grand sci-fi mission at hand (very Kubrickian).
As I know some haven't seen it yet, I won't delve into plot details but suffice it to say that the plot is pretty time-wimey and is infused with Nolan's signature twisty and multi-layered storytelling. The story, perhaps unfortunately, is not where the innovation and spectacle come through, it is obviously in the outer space sequences which were described to me by a friend as "physics porn." As an engineer with only qualitative understanding of general relativity and gravitational astrophysics, I had no problem following the science mechanics in the film though I can see where general audiences might be put off by this as well. There is plenty of real physics in the film (CalTech prof Kip Thorne serves as exec producer and technical consultant on the film) but there is plenty of speculative and artistic liberties in the film that may split audiences and science read audiences as well. I found the representations of the astrophysical concepts to be the most amazing I've ever seen on film and much like last year's GRAVITY, felt like I was really there with our explorers.
The power of INTERSTELLAR is that it is still a Nolan film with his signature tropes (twisty plot, heady ideas, exposition heavy) but it is also the director making something a bit more personal. The film I can readily compare this film to is Contact (which ironically also stars Matthew McConaughey) in that it melds a deeply personal father- daughter story with speculative, cautionary, and visionary sci-fi. While Contact is a blend of a philosophical debate and personal drama, Interstellar doesn't quite delve TOO deeply in philosophical debate (spiritual vs. scientific) but it does touch on it enough. All the actors, especially McConaughey and Jessica Chastain, are on top form and they all play their parts well, even if the characterization is uneven, you really only get to know McConaughey and Chastain's characters really well as it is their connection that drives the film. There are some nice homages to 2001 and Close Encounters as I said, and never during the 169 minute runtime was I not engaged. That being said, there is a sequence that occurs at the end of the 2nd act that I felt went on too long and seemed a tad contrived.
I will reiterate that what Nolan has created with INTERSTELLAR should be admired, the ambition, the technical prowess, the emphasis on human drama as much as the science. I'd rather a filmmaker aim high (very high) and miss his mark by a couple pegs than aim low and be happy meeting low expectations. It's plot is not wholly original (I will say there are elements of LOOPER and TERMINATOR in the time travel nature of the plot, and of course 2001 in the space journey) but the way Nolan presented the story, with it's realistic portrayal of theoretical physics concepts tied around the human story, was original enough that it made for a truly engrossing experience, and I do mean an experience, this film is a journey in every sense of the word. Again, the film is not perfect, it does have one or two narrative issues, the characters aren't all equally balanced, and the emotional gut punch at the end doesn't hit you as hard as the ending of INCEPTION does (both in where Fischer finally reaches catharsis with his dad and with Cobb seeing his kids), but give me a second tier Christopher Nolan film over any other blockbuster film any day. I think this film will prove Nolan's must divisive work yet (as is evidenced by it's humble 74% RT score) but with time, like 2001, I feel like the film will gradually grow in estimation. Without a second viewing, which I really want to see, I'm giving INTERSTELLAR a score of 4.5/5 (A-).