In his first movie since concluding his work on Batman, director Christopher Nolan takes audiences to the stars in Interstellar. In typical Nolan fashion, much of the film has been kept under wraps, with trailers providing only small glimpses of the peril that awaits Matthew McConauhey's character as he voyages through space.
Some of those secrets are now coming to light as critics have finally watched the film. Earth is struggling to survive in face of widespread famine and crop failure. With most plants unable to survive, less oxygen and more nitrogen is being released into the atmosphere. Those on Earth who don't die from starvation will soon die from asphyxiation.
It's up to NASA then to save the day. The program has gone "underground," secretly working on a plan that just might save humanity. A wormhole has been discovered near Saturn that leads to a brand new galaxy, containing planets that might be fit for human life. McConauhey plays Cooper a former test pilot and engineer who at one time dreamed of being an astronaut. When members of NASA show up on his doorstep to recruit him for the intergalactic mission through the wormhole, Cooper can't resist the chance to explore the cosmos and possibly save humanity while he's at it, even though it means leaving his family behind in the dust. What follows is best left unspoiled, but it seems there are plenty of twists and turns along the voyage.
So far reviews are mostly positive, but there is definitely a mixed-bag of opinions. Often mentioned is how despite the film's plot of theoretical physics and science jargon, it remains deeply rooted in human emotion as characters deal with being light-years away from loved ones. Writes Variety:
"As visually and conceptually audacious as anything Nolan has yet done, the director's ninth feature also proves more emotionally accessible than his coolly cerebral thrillers and Batman movies, touching on such eternal themes as the sacrifices parents make for their children (and vice versa) and the world we will leave for the next generation to inherit."
It's perhaps too human for some. Writes The Hollywood Reporter:
"For all its adventurous and far-seeing aspects, Interstellar remains rather too rooted in Earthly emotions and scientific reality to truly soar and venture into the unknown, the truly dangerous."
It's an opinion echoed by others. Writes Forbes:
"Despite penning what amounts to a "mixed-negative" review, I would never tell anyone not to see it. In-fact I would recommend seeing it on the biggest IMAX screen you can find both to encourage such film-making pursuits and to encourage glorious 2D IMAX. It is a well-acted film of ambition and intelligence, albeit one that falls short in overall visceral and overall emotional impact. It is a film about interstellar travel that is ironically at its strongest when it remains Earthbound."
As the film is grounded (mostly) in real science and human relationships, it can't truly give way to exploring the cosmos in the same way as Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, from which Nolan is clearly drawing inspiration.
Kubrick's film proved to be divisive among critics, and still is today, but there is no denying it ranks among one of the most important films in the history of sci-fi cinema. Only time will tell if Interstellar achieves the same level of fame. Check out the spoiler-free trailer below:
