I saw Interstellar at IMAX last night in a surprisingly crowded but not sold out theatre. I am thinking that the 9PM start time on a Thursday with an almost three hour movie scared some people away.
This is a long movie but for a review one cannot disclose too much without giving too much away. In short, I liked this film. It is still with me this morning and I expect for a while to come. It is ambitious and explores some very high level themes (where I wonder if Nolan could have an intelligent and reasoned discussion with an astrophysicist on the theory of relativity). I suspect that he likely can.
The story if you have not gleaned from the trailer is that futuristic Earth is changing and there was past catastrophic event that lead to billions dying. Dust storms rise and farming (feeding the people left) is more challenging. Matthew is a single father to two kids. He ultimately is asked to assist in going on an expedition to find a new home for humanity, the species. Then he has an adventure that takes you ambitiously through his journey.
There are some stunning visuals here. Many borrow heavily from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I feel as though this movie requires a second viewing to put it all in perspective. This is not unusual for Christopher Nolan with Memento and Inception amongst his films. Once you know the premise and ultimate result, then you can piece together how it got there later.
At almost 3 hours, this movie is long and can feel long in places. There are some scenes to me that could have shortened. This is a big theatre movie. It has emotion too, and a heart. The cast and acting are first rate. I somehow suspect that this film could suffer from being too smart for the general audience. Those who seek out Pacific Rim and Transformers are likely to walk away scratching their heads and wondering what they just saw. It remains a film worth watching.
Mondays With Robbie 