Movie Review: Interstellar
by Michael Archbold
Those who know me know I rarely tolerate three hour movies. There are far too many of them nowadays and unnecessarily so. Very few can pull them off or need to pull them off. Those same people would tell you that I am a sucker for art movies, sci-fi, time travel, and big soundtracks. When it comes to Christopher Nolan, I’m kind of hit or miss. Sometimes he brings it like he did in the Batman Trilogy. Other times he goes a little too far like Inception. This movie kind of has it all. Much more scientific approach to time travel, based more on what we know of the physical world as opposed to jumping around in a DeLorean. The dialogue surrounding time travel in the movie can be a little dense and thick but it doesn’t detract from the overall experience for even the casual viewer. Interstellar is also very much an art movie. It certainly borrows from 2001 A Space Odyssey, and to a lesser degree, Ridley Scott flicks like Alien and Blade Runner. There’s a lot of attention given to cinematography and presentation. The movies can go minutes on end without any dialogue. Remarkably, however, the movie is still paced well. The movie, in classic Nolan style, has a very large and brooding soundtrack courtesy of Hans Zimmer. Sometimes the soundtracks in his pictures can be a little too over the top and not very memorable. That is still very true for much of this movie. In many instances, the music is chaotic and crazy. But there are definitely overtones that stick with you after you walk away… Especially the themes surrounding the relationship between Matthew McConaughey’s character and his daughter. For me the movie seems like an instant classic. Critics and audiences seem to be rating it very high. Although it can be very dense and artsy, Nolan finds a way to make this picture accessible through the use of the relationships he creates on screen. Universal themes of love between parent and child makes this movie palatable for the masses. In a world where everyone seems beat down and simply accepting life as it now exists, Nolan puts forth the idea of American exceptionalism. In one scene, the main character Cooper, who is a former astronaut turned farmer, remarks that we are explorers and risk takers. Not men content with their place in the world. The words feel inspiring. I saw the movie in IMAX. Be forewarned that the soundtrack and IMAX theater will be very loud and very intense. If you prefer a more muted experience, you might opt for a standard viewing. The good: The universal themes of family and love relationships in the movie definitely carry us through the the more dense and artsy moments. They make me care about the characters and long for them to be reunited. The bad: The only real weirdness in the film is how fast the main character finds NASA and how quickly they are willing to stick him in a ship to pilot it into unknown regions. The ugly: to be honest, I’m not sure I really liked watching it in IMAX. Maybe I’m just getting too old, but there were portions that were just too loud and not enjoyable for me. 4 1/2 out of five stars. I almost never do this. Normally I give a movie time to sink in with me and only give one I like 4 stars out of the gates. This one, however, is sticking with me better than most. Probably going to go see it again tonight.
4.5 out of 5.0 Stars
Michael Archbold is really just a guy that watches movies and sometimes likes them enough to write reviews. You can hear Mike weekly on Better Kind Media’s Fly Casual Podcast. Follow Mike on Twitter @Mike_Archbold. Â
Nolan Bros. Goin’ All Einstein On Ya! – Movie Review: Interstellar Copyright 2014 Better Kind Media.Â
