Interstellar: Movie Review
There is a scene early in Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” which Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is trying to have a final moment with his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy) before he sets off into space to find hope for the remaining people on the dying Earth. Murph is trying to tell her father that ghosts are sending messages for him not to go, and as he walks out of the room, a book is mysteriously knocked off the shelf. At that point I was so sure what direction “Interstellar” would head in and what the film’s final twist would be. I didn’t want to be right because in my opinion the direction I saw coming would have been incredibly stupid. I struggled through the nearly 3 hour long journey dreading that the film would end exactly the way I thought it would. When the final act was finally upon me, the frustration I felt when my fears were realized made the already insufferable experience even worse. “Interstellar” went from bad to worse.
There has been a lot of mystery in the marketing for Nolan’s epic sci-fi flick, which seems to want to be this generation’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”. It is massive and beautifully shot and features a fantastic cast. Those are the staples of most Nolan films. While watching “Interstellar” I felt like I was watching an intelligent and sophisticated space adventure minus the intelligence.
Watching “Interstellar” in IMAX really helps give us a fantastic look at space and the planets which are visited. Even the corn fields on Earth look amazing, but all of that polish doesn’t mean anything if the story isn’t interesting. At 170 minutes, “Interstellar” drags on and fails to entertain with the exception of a few great sequences, like when Cooper, Amelia (Anne Hathaway) and the rest of the crew are about to be overrun by a massive tidal wave on a planet covered by water. There is another thrilling sequence when they try to dock their ship on a space station that is spinning out of control. A few moments here and there can’t save “Interstellar”.
The story keeps shifting back and forth between Cooper and crew on their mission in space and back on Earth where Cooper’s daughter Murph is now the same age as her father and played by the always terrific Jessica Chastain. The reason for this is that every hour Cooper spends on a planet, 7 years will pass on Earth. Murph is now working with Professor Brand (Michael Cane) at NASA trying to solve a very important problem in regards to Cooper’s mission. I almost forget to mention Cooper has a son as well (played by Casey Affleck) who feels kind of thrown in to the story.
It’s a shame that all the talent on display here couldn’t help make a more interesting film. “Interstellar” is far from stellar. Hopefully Nolan can deliver something much better on his next effort.
By: Marc Ferman