“At first glance, this seems like a rehash of 1997’s Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis, as both are about traveling to another galaxy on faith, with characters having daddy-issues, but to be so dismissive would do Nolan’s film an injustice.”

by Randy Krinsky

Without giving too much away, Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Interstellar, follows engineer/pilot-turned-farmer, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) as he embarks on a do-or-die attempt to save humankind.  It appears Earth is dying, due to some type of ecological cataclysm, and humanity only has one generation left before the planet becomes uninhabitable.  In a twist of fate, Cooper stumbles upon N.A.S.A.’s top secret base of operations and is drafted to pilot a secret mission through a wormhole in hopes that the human civilization can be relocated to a planet in this new galaxy.  Cooper has to make a choice, accept the mission which means leaving his own family behind, perhaps never to return to them, or stay and possibly die with them.

Interstellar
Directed by
Christopher Nolan
Cast
Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
Release Date
7 November 2014
Randy’s Grade: A

The visuals are stunning!  I don’t know what a wormhole or black hole looks like up close, but Nolan came up with some incredible versions! There are some intricate story details being thrown around, mostly science-related, that might be perplexing for many viewers (Hey, this is a Nolan film, after all).  Quantum theory and astrophysics aside, this film is all about journeying into the great beyond.  At first glance, this seems like a rehash of 1997’s Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis, as both are about traveling to another galaxy on faith, with characters having daddy-issues, but to be so dismissive would do Nolan’s film an injustice.
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Even I came into this viewing with reservations, having fallen into the oldest of reviewer traps…. reading someone else’s review first!  I watched and looked for items to nitpick, but honestly, I came away with a totally different feeling; one of hope.  One of the characters in the film, Professor Brand (Michael Caine) regularly quotes poet Dylan Thomas, “Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rage at close of day.  Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”  And, understanding that passage is the key to understanding this film, that mankind is at our best when out of options, when we let go to passion and dive into the unknown, as Cooper does in this film.  He dives in, his own future unknown, yet he dives in out of love and for a need greater than himself.