Review of Interstellar (2014) by Abemc — 14 Jul 2017

Interstellar attempts to be a character-driven space drama grounded in pseudo-realism. “Attempts” being the operative word. The character-driven drama is undermined by awkward story jumps and rushed / poorly explained motivations (though at almost three hours, the film isn’t short). None of this is helped by some nonsensical subversion of sci-fi common sense (seriously, who would think about inhabiting a planet near a black hole - let alone THREE planets near a black hole?). Add in a classic time-travel paradox and the seeds have been sown for some major confusion. It's a Christopher Nolan film, of course, so you can expect some great visuals, a great score by Hans Zimmer, and some good acting by all involved (except, strangely enough, leading man Matthew McConaughey, who mumbles half his lines and has a wooden expression on his face for the first two-thirds of the film). Interstellar tries to be thoughtful, insightful, reflective and predictive, but never inspires the sense of wonder that is a part of any great sci-fi film.

Interstellar is worth a watch once if you enjoy Nolan's film-making. Watch it again and you'll begin to pick the flaws apart. A disappointing 6/10.