'Interstellar' Nolan Fans Member Reviews

Christopher Nolan's 2014 grand scale science-fiction story about time and space, and the things that transcend them.
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7/10

Saw it, liked it. Will probably buy it.

BUT...

I think most people here are overhyping it.

Its cool to look at but I refuse to concede that the story is as brilliant as most here are claiming. Its no 2001 and its hardly Nolan's best. Most of the "big/mind-blowing" ideas presented in this story are rehashed from many tried and true sci-fi tropes. See Clarke or Heinlein. Just because its new to you, doesn't mean its new period.

It won't go down as a "masterpiece" and it won't go down as Nolan's magnum opus. He's just getting started.

Please recognize that every time a new Nolan movie comes out, the die hard fans naturally going to clammer over it's brilliance. They have to or they admit they've wasted years getting excited over something that was just so-so. We'd rather lie to ourselves than admit we were wrong.

Its good, not great.

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Where do I start..
The ending felt rushed, especially Murph solving Gravity and Coop being brought out of the Tesseract.
I felt there could have been a bit more time spent on the relationship between Murph and Coop at the beginning as well. It almost seemed quite sudden how he left her.

But that's just minor nitpicking because...

The cinematic experience was unlike anything I have ever witnessed. I was just swept away, to a different planet. The docking scene is one of the most thrilling scenes I have seen in recent times.

Nolan made a great choice casting Matthew McConaughey. I couldn't stand the guy when he did the romcoms, but he's really won me over. The one thing that was often lacking in Nolan's movies was warmth and emotion - he's ticked that box with some of the castings he's made. Anne Hathaway added a human touch to Catwoman in TDKR, in which she was top notch. MM has done the same here in Interstellar, adding a layer of human-ness and warmth that hasn't been in Chris' movies for some time.

Christian Bale and Leo DiCaprio are top top notch actors, but the warmth and emotion that MM brings is pretty special.

The story is a 8/10, but the overall movie is a 10/10 for me.

I haven;t felt like that leaving a cinema since I saw T2 Judgement Day.

Just utterly in awe of the genius that is Nolan. For so many years we thought he wanted to own the indie-sci-fi space, but he's got much bigger ambitions. This guy wants to own the Spielberg position of the 21st century, whilst simultaneously pursuing non-linear and ambitious themes. Incredible!

I do wish the critics to this movie would think hard about what exactly Interstellar is achieving. There are few movies that rekindle our love for the cinema. Gone Girl was great but I could watch that on my Ipad and experience it just the same. Boyhood is a great movie, but again I'll watch that in the comfort of my living room.

Interstellar has to be watched in the cinema. The Hans Zimmer soundtrack, booming through those speakers. The black hole encapsulating everyone's awe. The grain of the 70mm film, and the softness of Hoyte's cinematography.
Unparalleled.

10/10.

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Location: “Where are you?!” “HERE.”
Back from second viewing. Still 10/10

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I have seen this four times now (twice in IMAX 70mm).

Rating after first viewing: 8.5/10
Rating after second viewing: 9/10
Rating after third viewing: 10/10
Rating after fourth viewing 10/10

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Joined: September 2014
Just got back.......what?

I enjoyed it, and it was close to bringing me to tears a couple times. But I'm still just...what?

Desperately needs a second viewing but I'll go with an 8.5/10 for the time being.

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Updated.

All Critics: 97% (average Rating: 9.2/10)
Top Critics: 100% (average Rating: 9.3/10)

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Joined: August 2012
After seeing this movie twice, I realized I won't be able to write a lengthy review for it without repeating myself (and others) over and over again, because I clearly don't have the writing skills as some of the other members here. And it may come across as an overreaction (and it probably is to some extent, as time usually cools things down a little), but this film touched my heart so much. It brought tears to my eyes at least a couple of times for various reasons (which I won't discuss, because not every one of them is within the film's context), during various scenes. It's a beautiful, beautiful and tender film. A brilliant and emotional piece of filmmaking. Is it perfect? No, probably not. There are things that even I have some minor issues with, but actually - I think it makes it even more fascinating, it gives you something to think and discuss about - all the story's or characters' "what ifs", "haves and have nots", which is basically, where a lot of people would find the negatives, as I simply can't find any bogeys within the other aspects of this film - I'm speaking of acting (honestly, the whole ensemble did an amazing job, just as I said earlier, some actors just had the advantage of having bigger and juicier roles), atmospheric cinematography and visual effects, and hauntingly memorable soundtrack (I swear to god, Zimmer did not disappoint this time, and I usually criticize him for replicating his soundtracks all the time), which are all stunning. Obviously, I'm not a science expert and although I think I understood most of the film's science just fine, I can't really comment on its validity, at least not 100% of it. But what I'm sure of - I've never seen a space flight(s) so beautiful and tense, yet grounded in reality (I would mention 2001, but I don't want to draw any overused comparisons once again). And that all these things combined with a remarkable storyline, gave me this unbelievable and indescribable feeling, almost surreal, as if you had a chance to be a part of this beautiful journey, even if it's for a couple of hours. That little kid inside me, who always dreamt of space, cinema and adventures, simply couldn't ask for more. I feel like this film will definitely leave a trace in recent film's history, it will probably just take more time for other people to realize and appreciate it. But it's not one of those films you see and forget as soon as you walk out of the theater. At least I won't be able to forget it anytime soon.
10/10/A+/wouldbang (yeah, I throwing my first 10/10 this year).

Well.. at least I tried. Don't grill me.

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Had my second viewing of the film recently since I felt I could not properly review it with just my first viewing since the IMAX sound max was so bad I missed probably 30% of the dialogue. Went to a regular theater and the sound mix was much better. Interstellar is a brilliant film, a visual experience on par with the greatest cinematic achievements. Seeing this in IMAX is a must. The film is a layered examination on love, science, our world and even our future. Perhaps the most important thing, is that regardless of the sophisticated and high level theoretical science, this film is ultimately about being human and the good and bad that this entails.

Visually the film is a splendor and up there with some of the best achievements (2001, Lawrence of Arabia) and the soundtrack is powerful and moving if not sometimes mixed to loud. The script while excellent still feels disjointed and rushed in certain parts. Thought the first act could have used a little more time to develop. This script, as with TDKR, has some points where it feels rushed or characters with dialogue that is either too obvious or overtop grandiose.

Case in point:
We cut from Cooper leaving Murph to the rocket launching into space. I felt this transition would have benefited from perhaps presenting the prep work to launch. This would have let the fact that he is leaving Murph really sink in. Also the end scene with Cooper and old Murph just felt really flat. That payoff is just not there. I feel that perhaps Nolan is worrying so much about concepts and ideas and not being observant on the small details. Perhaps maybe the scene is meant to feel that way since how would one react if you were Cooper and you haven't aged and you missed your daughters entire life. I think if Nolan wants his films to be more emotional he needs to sometimes let his scenes and camera linger. To be clear Nolan has always been accused of being a cold filmmaker which I never had an issue with. Kubrick was accused of this and he is considered one of the greats. Different directors have different styles.
Again all films have flaws, and a movie of this ambition and this scope is to be lauded. Thought the cinematography is excellent, and putting the camera close to the space vehicles adds a tactile and realistic feel to the scenes. When the movie is firing on all cylinders its an emotional and visceral gut punch. The acting is excellent all around and the script does an excellent job with the father and daughter relationship.

In the end we should feel lucky to have a director like Nolan willing to take risks with a third act that is haunting, polarizing and puzzling. Interstellar is a cosmic journey like few others.

Rating: 9/10
Last edited by SolidMel10 on November 11th, 2014, 11:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Okay, here I go.

I'm trying to find the right word to begin this word with. I suppose the first thing that comes to mind is "beautiful." It's a must-see film, if only so you can see the visuals. From the corn fields of Earth, to the alien worlds. From the interior shots of a child's bedroom, to the most incomprehensible wonders of nature. Interstellar is an absolute feast for the eyes, at times breath-taking. Even without having the chance to see the film in IMAX, I was absolutely captivated by the imagery. There are certain points where the film felt three-dimensional, moreso than most films relying on 3D as a crutch. It's what I can imagine 2001 would look like if made with today's tech.

However, films aren't all visuals. There's a script, actors, a director. Do they pull their weight in comparison to the imagery? For the most part, yes. Many argue about how Christopher Nolan handles emotion, but this is arguably one of the most emotional films I've seen in a long time. Despite the grand stakes and larger than life locations, at the core of it are the characters and their flawed, human nature. For the most part, the characters' actions are understandable. They're relatable.

Now the script can falter a wee bit. There are certain lines that have a cheesy scent to them, and can distract. Even just certain word choices prevent a scene from reaching its full potential. Although these flaws stick out like a sore thumb, there are points where the writing does shine. One of them, is a certain character that I won't spoil, since the promotional materials that I've seen have featured nothing from him. But he's essentially a comic relief character that works. It's rare for one of those archetypes to work in an action film, so to have them work in a film about the unknown, family, discovery and survival, is a real accomplishment. He helps to balance out some of the more serious parts of the film, which can get very intense.

Speaking of intense, I mean that in two ways. The emotionally-draining tension, and the adrenaline-pumping tension. There are points in this film that are just heart-breaking, one scene in particular bottles up an absurd amount of emotion and lets it all out in one scene featuring a brilliant Matthew McConaughey utilising no dialogue from him whatsoever. Yet you feel every punch he feels. And of course, there's the "action." I put it in quotations because it's not your typical action. There's no gunfire, no massively choreographed fight or chase scenes. They're hard to talk about without spoiling, but there's one in particular where the music just keeps building as you grip the cinema armchairs harder. It was worth glancing away from the screen for just a second to see just how nervous everyone watching was.

I've already talked about Matthew, but the rest of the cast is great. . . for the most part. There's two actors, one of whom is one of my personal favourites, John Lithgow, that don't really get the chance to do much. Their characters are fairly flat and it feels like a waste to have them used for such bit roles. However, everyone else makes up for it. Jessica Chastain is great, Anne Hathaway is great, and Mackenzie Foy proves herself as one to watch. An impressive performance, considering how rare that is for child actors.

Now for my biggest problem with the film; the structure and length. It really feels like it could have been reworked. Certain scenes could have been condensed and the film as a whole could have been a tighter package. This is much longer than Inception, and while I feel that Inception was at the perfect length for what it was, Interstellar could have used some trimming around the edges. It doesn't drag, per se, but you can see the film suffer ever so slightly for being stretched too thin.

In conclusion, is it Nolan's worst film? Nope. Is it Nolan's best film? Nope. It's somewhere in the middle, sitting comfortably. Interstellar won't be everyone's cup of tea, in fact I was surprised by the turnout at the cinema. For those who the film will work for, it will really work. One of the most inventive use of science-fiction in a long time, and one that feels more real than it has any right to be.8/10

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I will start off by saying that when the movie ended I didn’t want the lights to turn on and get up from that comfortable seat. Then I asked myself, looking at my girlfriend: “is this real life?”

The good.
Some said that the first part of the movie was slow, boring, disappointing. I don’t think so. IMO it was necessary and I really liked it.
I really enjoyed the audio-visual similarities with 2001 A Space Odissey.
THANK YOU NOLAN, THANKS A LOT. I just wish I never saw the wormhole and black hole in trailers and featurettes before the movie. But they were still beautiful to look at on the big IMAX screen.
The second and third part of the movie were really immersive in so many ways.
The fifth dimension was simply mesmerizing, the key part of the movie that still makes me think of the possibilites……
Hans Zimmer…….let me repeat that….Hans-freaking-Zimmer, he did it again. He totally nailed it. I got goose bumps through my body for the entire movie.
2 hours 45 minutes? I didn’t even feel it was that long, simply because I really enjoyed it.
There are so MANY things I liked but I don’t want to write too much. You know all of them: all the science, the acting of Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain and Mackenzie Foy, the relationship father-daughter,
the “alien”, the codes with the watch and books, how Cooper found NASA, THEY, the circular space station, etc.
Now, the bad.
The movie has indeed a few minor flaws and that’s why unfortunately I cannot give it a perfect score. It's about some characters and acting. Everything is spoilerish so....
-Mann: Good acting by Matt Damon but his character was really annoying, talking to Cooper when he was suffocating on the ground...
-Brand (daughter): I didn’t like the character and the acting of Anne Hathaway. Of course she can cry but looking at her I couldn’t feel any emotion.
-Getty: Topher Grace was simply useless in this movie.
-Tom: So what happend with Cooper’s son? Fuck him, basically?
-Murph’s death: I can understand that a parent should never survive to his children (sorry if my english is not correct, I hope you understand what I mean), that’s why Murph didn’t want Cooper to be there for her death….but Murhp’s family and him, ignoring each other at the end?...WTF was that about?
But still…..Interstellar was the biggest cinematographic experience of my life, so I will give it a solid 9,5/10.
No, not a 8 or 9 because the good of Interstellar is simply too good. It prevails.
I will definitely go see it again next week.
Last edited by hardvibes on November 12th, 2014, 3:25 am, edited 3 times in total.

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