Saturday, November 08, 2014

Thoughts on Interstellar


I saw Christopher Nolan's new movie, Interstellar, last night. Here are a few thoughts:

-First thing you should know: It's long. Two hours and 49 minutes and if your theater shows a bunch of previews it's going to easily be over three hours. You're probably not going to make it if you get a large Diet Coke.

-The word "epic" tends to be overused but it definitely applies here.

-It starts pretty slow. Once it gets moving though it is pretty intense. It actually felt like kind of an ordeal getting through the movie, especially since you really have no idea while watching where it's going to end up.

-As you would expect, the visuals are stunning. And, as usual in a Nolan movie, nothing looks like a special effect. I'm not sure that I'm going to see it again in the theater, but if they play it in the IMAX theater here there's a good chance I'll check it out.

-Some of the space visuals are so innovative that I suspect they'll be stolen by many future sci-fi movies.

-The intricate Nolan plotting is also here, though that's not necessarily apparent until fairly late in the movie.

-There are a lot of big sci-fi ideas and physics in this one. You don't need to be familiar with all of the ideas to enjoy the movie but if relativistic time effects, Newton's third law, and fifth-dimensional beings sound really boring you may not enjoy it as much as some of Nolan's other movies.

-I liked it but didn't love it. As far as Nolan's films go I would definitely rank it behind Inception and the Dark Knight trilogy but probably ahead of The Prestige, Memento, and Insomnia. It does grow on you though and I suspect I'd like it more with subsequent viewings.

2 comments:

Ump said...

You answered my question (On a scale of 1 - "Inception," where does it rank?)

I'm a big Nolan fan. He's dominated since 2000. I've only seen "Insomnia" once, but I remember not liking it.

My parents seen movie tonight and did not like it.

Thanks for heads up.

Ump said...

Movie Update: "Django Unchained" is on Netflix and I watched that tonight. This isn't saying much, but probably my favorite Quentin Tarantino movie. I think I've only seen 3 all the way through, but this one was pretty good. Lots. Of. Blood. Some good humor involved and good plot. Worth watching.