Immediate thoughts?
Thrilling. Sweet visuals. Uneven. AMBITIOUS.
Go on...
I'm a Christopher Nolan fan, a huge one at that, so I had monumentally high hopes for Interstellar and... I wasn't disappointed, mostly. Once again, Nolan has made a fantastic movie, perhaps not as entertaining as his previous ones, but a nonetheless solid entry with most of his better qualities.
For one, Interstellar has amazing visuals. I'm of course referring to the portion of the movie set in space; on Interstellar's earth, there's just a lot of dust. Now, luckily, I managed to see it at the cinema, and boy am I glad I did. There's a certain quality to the spacecraft, and the planets, which just makes you wonder how the hell they did it. Everything was so deceptively realistic, especially when you consider that these are things we may never physically see. Imagine how it felt like seeing it unfold on the big screen. And judging by its academy award for visual effects, it's safe to say everyone will most likely be impressed with Interstellar's visuals.
Ah, yes, in typical Nolan fashion, Interstellar is thrilling. Okay maybe that's a tad misleading, but it does have some very thrilling sequences - not in a high-octane, chaotic way, but in a more measured, steady-rise manner. That is admittedly the best kind of thrill, and these sequences will take your breath away. I'm sure you'll see mentions of a certain docking sequence in many reviews, and rightly so - it's probably Interstellar's best sequence. There's also another scene given away in the trailers, so you should avoid them before watching the movie (generally, you should steer clear of trailers as much as possible). Not to mention the many small touches and details that elevated the movie experience, like the frequent POV shots, and using rain as background music in space. That's just it with Interstellar; its main focus is the experience, and it definitely got that right.
Unfortunately, Interstellar does have some weaknesses. First of, the title. Every single time I've typed Interstellar, I've typed it wrong. Every single time. There was also too much setup, and the story got somewhat out of hand in the final act too. Ironically, this is due to the sheer ambition of the story being told. Nolan effectively found a simple story, and proceeded to tell it using the largest canvas he could find. You can't fault him for the ambition, but it slipped a fair bit out of his reach. Another problem was with the characters: they were all too cold. The acting was great, don't get me wrong, but the characters lacked that human spirit. With the exception of TARS. But then he was a robot. Maybe I could also give Murphy (the protagonist's daughter) a pass in that regard, but on the whole, the characterization was poor.
But was it well made?
Oh yes. The visual effects team knocked it out of the park. Nolan's direction and his eye for details also deserve praise; without them, the movie wouldn't have had those touches I spoke about earlier. Interstellar was also made with scientific accuracy in mind, and it was mostly accurate; even Neil deGrasse Tyson (Popular astrophysicist, and host of the cosmos TV show) seemed impressed. Hans Zimmer's organ-driven score was simply glorious - no other word for it. I loved the sound mix a lot too, not sure what people were complaining about. Generally, it felt like they paid close attention to everything in this movie. If I had to nitpick, I'd say it could have been shorter, but aside that, Interstellar is a carefully considered, exceptionally well-made movie.
Final thoughts
This is the kind of movie whose craft seeps through to present a more singular viewing experience. You know, like the people who did it cared almost obsessively about making it great - they probably did. And somehow, Interstellar manages to stay entertaining amidst all that, which is no small feat. Combined with its ambition, yeah, Interstellar deserves a spot on the list, but not as high up as it is.
My Score : 8+
Okay, I still haven't seen Inside out, and unless that changes, next week we're on to Gone Girl. Oh yes, of course, watch Interstellar, if you can, and let's hear your thoughts and scores on it.
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