Interstellar

Space is fun, but people are boring

Here we find the world limping along after a freak disease has wiped out most of the planet's population and food supply. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) has given up his dreams of space travel in turn for what the world really needs, farmers. Feeling that his genius has been wasted, and his children's futures are dwindling, he sets out to discover the cause of an anomaly happening in his house. He is guided to the last remnants of NASA, and is recruited to help find humanity a new home world before the disease kills off the rest of the food.

Here we go, I know my opinion on this movie is not going to be a popular one; but, I don't really give too much of a shit about popularity. Hey, everybody! I thought this movie was mediocre! Look, to me a movie like this has to be held together with more than science, there has to be some actual descent storyline thrown in. Don't get me wrong, normally worm hole theory and the fact that they never have scenes depicting sound in space would get me as hard as a diamond in an ice storm; but, the story was just uninteresting. If they want to give me a science lecture then just say the things you have to say here in Bill Nye the Science Guy or Cosmos, don't put it in a two and a half hour long movie. This movie is filled with expendable scenes that could have made the run time closer to two hours instead of 2:49. It detaches from science completely sometimes, when the human emotion is brought into effect, and we have to choose which wins out our species or the ties we hold dearly. Yes people, the entirety of this story (and the tone of this film) is boiled down to the classically overused story line "the needs of the many..." Was it brought to the screen brilliantly? Yes. Was it acted out damn near flawlessly? Yes. I just had some major problems with bits and pieces of the storyline, and the third act damn near had my eyes permanently glued to the back of my skull.

Now, we get to the good parts of this movie, the first being (in no small part) the direction. Christopher Nolan may have picked a less than stellar script to role with, but this man can direct like no one's business. The scenes mixed beautifully with the  music, in a way that made me forget about the drivel of dialogue that was being spewed out. The scenery was so striking that one could think this movie actually could have taken place on another world. The atmosphere was thick with realistic tones and an earthy center where they needed to be. You could taste the dust in your mouth when the movie brought you to Earth. You could feel the cold air course through your lungs when they were on an alien planet, or the feeling of the waves pass under you. The movie was undeniably beautiful, and shot to perfection that only this director could bring through. Now, someone please give the man a good script to work around. 

The performances shown here were nothing short of spectacular. Matt Damon turned out to be convincing, and was able to make me think he started taking some ques from his buddy in Good Will Hunting. Anne Hathaway brought some feeling to a character that could have turned out bland, and when she messes up you can feel that weight. Michael Caine acted out of character in a Nolan film for once by bringing a bit of gravitas, and (dare I say) sincerity to his performance. Just so we are clear I am surprised by this movie using him for his acting talent beyond being comic relief, not that he is a bad actor. The real power house performance that shined through in this came from Matthew McConaughey (and never have readers been less stunned) he really made you feel every scene in this movie like it was happening to you. I had my reservations about him finally taking acting seriously when he first made his come back from the depths of "RomCom hell"; but, this is just a drop in the bucket from the well of talent this guy has been showcasing. 

Final Verdict: Rent it Some major fault lines in the plot took me out of the experience completely sometimes, but the actors were more than ready to make up for the shortcomings. This movie was serviceable, but there is no need to rush out for it.