INTERSTELLAR - Grading & Discussion

[CaptainCanada]

Nihilistic alternate ending:

"You guys, I solved the problem with information from my dad who lives in some kind of hidden dimension behind my childhood bedroom bookshelf and transmitted it in Morse code through the hand on my watch!"
*Jessica Chastain is immediately committed to the insane asylum*
*Human race dies*

I was impressed with it on the whole. One must begin with the recognition that there are very few filmmakers today who would have both the vision and the clout to make something like this (Spielberg could, maybe Cameron if you showed him the script upfront, a few others). Not a perfect movie, but it's quite impressive.

Nolan is famously a bit of a cold fish as a filmmaker. This is a departure from form, and casting an actor with as warm a presence as Matthew McConaughey seems like a pretty conscious choice to counter that. The father/daughter connection is quite moving (maybe for his next trick Nolan will try to embrace human sexuality in his movies). McConaughey's presence strongly connects the film to Contact to me, even more than the basic outline of the resolution already does. Chastain and Hathaway were also great; the latter is a good case of casting a great actor to beef up an underwritten part. Also, I should mention Mackenzie Foy as the young Murphy, who is terrific.

I felt personally betrayed when Matt Damon turned out to be a bad guy. You can't abuse the audience's trust like that, Damon! Though when we first came to that planet I was wondering why he was talking about it like it was habitable when it looked pretty uninviting. But with a character whose surname is "Mann" in a movie like this, it's perhaps inevitable that he would go insane and come to represent the worst of humanity.

 

[Starbreaker]

I have mixed feelings. I love some of the science fiction aspects, particularly the first two planets. But there are some plot holes I'm having a hard time with.

There should have been unmanned data that would have prevented the issues on the first and second planet. There is no excuse for that when you have such advanced AIs in the movie's time line and unmanned probes in the real world.

Apparently the drones didn't send back enough data so they sent in people. On Miller's planet, the probe was malfunctioning and sending back the homing beacon to come find them, and on Mann's planet, he disabled the robot and manipulated the data in hopes that he would be picked up. Looks like the third guy died at some point in time.

I honestly don't understand the physics of a planet orbiting a black hole. Where is the planet's star? If it doesn't have one, how can it be candidate for colonization?

That bugged me a little too... how could the be so desperate to find a planet that they would be willing to live that close near a black hole. I'm not sure how long black hole?

If the crafts can land and go to orbit on their own power, why did they need a missile to launch from Earth?

That's a good question. Was the craft they used to explore planets different from the one they launched in from Earth initially?

One last nitpick: did cooper not bother asking about his son, or did I miss something?

 

[chrisspringob]

I honestly don't understand the physics of a planet orbiting a black hole. Where is the planet's star? If it doesn't have one, how can it be candidate for colonization?

I wondered this as well. The characters do mention a neutron star in the system. So, I am guessing the planets were part of a binary system of a neutron star orbiting the black hole. That type of binary system makes sense. But I was still under the impression that a habitable planet required a main sequence star like our sun. I don't think a planet in a binary system with a neutron star and a black hole would ever be a suitable planet for human colonization.

Yeah, a planet orbiting a neutron star isn't going to be habitable.

My one point of confusion about the ending: When Coop returns to our solar system, it sounds like about 90 years have passed since he originally left Earth. OK, and the people who have left Earth and are now living in space are still able to produce food to feed themselves? The blight that was afflicting their crops didn't follow them into space? Why not? Does it somehow not survive in space? Because the way they were talking at the beginning of the movie, it didn't sound like they still had a century left before the blight would destroy corn as well. It sounded more urgent than that.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

I saw the movie. Great science fiction both visually and story-wise, great leads and it didn't feel like 3 hours but it did gloss over complex issues. That was the weak spot in an otherwise engaging film.

A few teases but no spoilers…

Act I: A good start that shows us the state of the world in the near future. I found it interesting because I can see our society headed in that direction as the population grows, apathy grows, and short-sightedness with regards to how we handle technology and resources catches up with us. Is what the movie showed us too far-fetched? Maybe the part with McConaughey's chatacter in the school was but the rest? Not necessarily. This act also plays out in such a way that you wonder how McConaughey will ever end up in space.

Act II: Some of the best science fiction I've seen on film because it was real science fiction without a lot of the fantastical elements that you'd see in most other shows and films. You've seen the clips. And while it felt like a real exploratory mission to other planets, I did wonder why our characters thought that the environments that we saw were worth a closer look.

Act III: Now the movie goes into some gripping edge-of-your seat drama with a few surprises.

The last 20 minutes or so: The movie takes quite a turn and things start coming together. I won't spoil it. I'll just say that it's not at all like Act II. Do pay attention to some of the stuff in Act I with the daughter though.

A few more thoughts…

• The movie reminded me of Solaris and 2001.

• Like I said, Nolan's tendency to gloss over things brought the movie down a bit but maybe I'll get more out of it with repeat viewings. I did with The Dark Knight.

• Matthew McConaughey delivered the charm and the humor. His performance is a big part of what makes this movie enjoyable to watch. It's nice to see that he's had a bit of a career resurgance after a decade or so of rom-coms.

• Last year, we got Sandra Bullock and this year we get Anne Hathaway. You'll like her too.

• I wonder if they wanted to call this movie "Gravity". You'll see why.

• People rarely stay until the end credits are finished, even when there's supposed to be a post credit scene, but the audience I was with did. I wonder why. Was it the score? Who knows. It was a decent score. I don't remember it but I liked it when I heard it.

• The music in parts was pretty loud and almost drowned out some of the dialog.

More later. I look forward to everyone else's reaction.

Alright, alright, alright. Looking forward to seeing this this weekend!

Saw it tonight (10:50 show, Scotiabank Theater, Toronto), thought it was amazing. Great science, characters, and plot- a welcome change from what we usually get. I hope that we can get into space before something like that happens.

Maybe the next Star Trek movie can be like this, or have some inspiration from this, and maybe Hollywood can do more movies like this and Gravity.

My one point of confusion about the ending: When Coop returns to our solar system, it sounds like about 90 years have passed since he originally left Earth. OK, and the people who have left Earth and are now living in space are still able to produce food to feed themselves? The blight that was afflicting their crops didn't follow them into space? Why not? Does it somehow not survive in space? Because the way they were talking at the beginning of the movie, it didn't sound like they still had a century left before the blight would destroy corn as well. It sounded more urgent than that.

Presumably, on the L-5 colonies in orbit, NASA used what little corn and other foodstuffs they were growing in hydroponics on the base on the L-5's that weren't affected by the blight, and also whatever GMO's were developed up to that time.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Hopefully there will be a DVD with a commentary by Kip Thorne, so that all scientific questions are answered.

 

[EyalM]

The science behind the ships seemed sound, and was actually used for some plot points (like with Mann) which I liked.
On the other hand, I didn't understand the science behind everyone being in risk of suffocating on earth. Did they say the blight was using nitrogen instead of oxygen? That doesn't make sense from a biological standpoint. I guess they needed an "everyone will die" threat, because failing crops will reduce the population, but not cause extinction.

 

[chrisspringob]

My one point of confusion about the ending: When Coop returns to our solar system, it sounds like about 90 years have passed since he originally left Earth. OK, and the people who have left Earth and are now living in space are still able to produce food to feed themselves? The blight that was afflicting their crops didn't follow them into space? Why not? Does it somehow not survive in space? Because the way they were talking at the beginning of the movie, it didn't sound like they still had a century left before the blight would destroy corn as well. It sounded more urgent than that.

Presumably, on the L-5 colonies in orbit, NASA used what little corn and other foodstuffs they were growing in hydroponics on the base on the L-5's that weren't affected by the blight, and also whatever GMO's were developed up to that time.

So was that just a temporary solution until they all move to the Edmunds planet, where they'll grow indigenous food? Because if they can keep growing uncontaminated food by sealing it off from the contaminated stuff, and growing it in an artificial environment, then they could have just done that on Earth, with no need to launch everyone into space.

So yeah, I can buy it if it's a stopgap solution, and they're all about to make a permanent move to the Edmunds planet, but I wasn't clear on whether that was the intent. I don't recall. Did they say anything at the end about other folks already being on their way across the wormhole to make the move?

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

I honestly don't understand the physics of a planet orbiting a black hole. Where is the planet's star? If it doesn't have one, how can it be candidate for colonization?

That bugged me a little too... how could the be so desperate to find a planet that they would be willing to live that close near a black hole. I'm not sure how long black hole?

Like I said... you need a (nearby) black hole to create a wormhole. No black hole, no wormhole. No wormhole, no interstellar travel. Or at least that's how interstellar travel would (presumably) work in the "real" world.

So from the protagonists' prespective it was either colonizing a planet near a black hole or starving on Earth. That being said, it's probably perfectly safe to live nearby a black hole as long as you maintain the safety distance and don't cross the point of no return. Similar is true even for our own sun, only to a less severe extent.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

I felt personally betrayed when Matt Damon turned out to be a bad guy. You can't abuse the audience's trust like that, Damon! Though when we first came to that planet I was wondering why he was talking about it like it was habitable when it looked pretty uninviting. But with a character whose surname is "Mann" in a movie like this, it's perhaps inevitable that he would go insane and come to represent the worst of humanity.

I actually forgot Damon was in it so when he appeared I was like, 'oh, cool!'. I liked the touch that his name was Mann and he was constantly spoken of as 'the best of us', but it turned out he was the worst of us, and Cooper had to overcome that to succeed.

My full review is here but I loved it. The sci-fi was good, the emotional core was great. Touched my mind and my heart. It's not perfect of course, but I really enjoyed it.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

On the other hand, I didn't understand the science behind everyone being in risk of suffocating on earth. Did they say the blight was using nitrogen instead of oxygen? That doesn't make sense from a biological standpoint. I guess they needed an "everyone will die" threat, because failing crops will reduce the population, but not cause extinction.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but is it only crops that are being killed by the blight, and not plants in general? Because if the rainforests and other plants around the world were dying off from the blight too, that would explain the oxygen depletion.

 

[Dac]

Welp. The very first thing you see when exiting the wormhole "in another galaxy" is the Orion nebula, something so close by I've taken photos of it in my back garden. I live in a city.

That being said...I voted B+. I quite liked it, but it does have flaws. First of all, I really didn't like anyone in the movie. Anne Hathaway came the closest to being a nice person, but even she is pretty cold for most of the film. Everyone else is either a dick or a cardboard cutout. Thinking about it, I guess there could be something to say about the robots being the most human characters in it.

All that being said, it fires some big lofty ideas at the audience and while not all of them stick (The Moon landing denial was a nice touch but its only mentioned ONCE then forgotten about) I commend it for trying to go where it wants too. As for the "V'Ger" bit at the end, I was OK with it. Infinite mass and all that jazz. We don't know what's inside the singularity so...why not Zoidberg?

Also, did the very last of McConoughey in the movie remind anyone else of a cheesy 70s BSG knockoff movie like Battle Beyond the Stars? That suit, the lighting and all that just really flicked that switch in my mind. I kind of wish it ended with him completing his "mission" though, because that relationship was the only one that hadn't been soured/resolved in the movie. But then Nolan does like cutting his movies about 5 minutes before a logical end point.

 

[Ethros]

Pretty good, although the general twist near the end I guessed right from the start.


And TARS and CASE are the real stars of the movie



Also quick question- what happened to the Wes Bentley character? I must have missed something at the end of the Wave Planet segment. He had plenty of time to get back to the ship, did get get knocked out the door or something?

 

[Avalon]

He was already back to the ship and standing by the hatch when TARS came rolling in with Brand. As far as I can figure, he suddenly came down with Tripped Over a Root syndrome and didn't make it in -- or he got washed out as he tried to secure the hatch against the wave coming in.

 

[Warped9]

I just got back from seeing this.

I give it an A+

It works for me.

This is a rarity in science fiction films. It is very much a hard SF story that could easily have been a novel even if there might be a few things that push the limits of credibility. And yet as hard SF it is far from being dry and sterile--that's where it departs from the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Emotional elements resonate throughout the film. Indeed I think those elements help make the fantastical parts seem even more believable. The acting was solid all around which also helped to sell the story.

There is real science and technical jargon throughout the film, but it's not served by the shovelful. It's sprinkled through in easily digestible morsals and is far from being tedious as reams of sci-fi technobabble can be.

Regarding the nods to 2001--there are lots of them, but they're not done in a "beating you over the head" way. TARS and CASE are mobile A.!s. (and very cool) and yet they are completely sane (sorry Hal) and with their own personalities. Indeed it's one of the human characters that proves to be nuts.

Interstellar is almost three hours long, but I never felt it dragged. I actually found it somewhat refreshing to watch a film unfold in something other than accelerated blockbuster standard pacing.

There are some shortcuts taken. Such as it's never really explained what happened to Earth and why so many people have already died. And the idea that engineers wouldn't be needed in such a situation doesn't sit with me as I would think you would need the smartest people around to help keep things going. And, of course, this is one of the messages of the film: we've got to keep thinking to survive. We must solve problems rather than just manage them.

Ultimately I think this film is a smart counterpoint to the sense of cynicism and nihilism pervading our age. I found it an inspirational refutation of so much regressive thinking and anti-intellectualism we see cropping up around us.

Matthew McConaughey really sells this movie. He's a great hero with a real heart. He has tremendous courage and conviction and all without being an old school cowboy type. And he's smart (as many of the principle characters are) as opposed to being just a smartass and/or perpetual cynic. He's the kind 0f hero we like to believe will be there for us in trying times.

The final inspirational element I get from this is that smart as well as engaging science fiction can be done in film. It doesn't have to be one or the other. As such I really hope this inspires others to make similar minded films.

 

[Admiral2]

Holy crap! Somebody in Hollywood screwed up and actually let a SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE get made!

A-

Engrossed from start to finish. Little bit of Asimov, little bit of Clarke, a smidgen of Dale Brown, just the right mix of hard sci-fi and "out there" sci-fi, beautiful visuals, great acting... I even half-liked Matthew McWhats-his-face, and I generally hate him in everything.

The minus is for a complaint that the critics got right. At times the music did drown out the dialogue. Still, not a big enough problem to kill the experience.

 

[drt]

He was already back to the ship and standing by the hatch when TARS came rolling in with Brand. As far as I can figure, he suddenly came down with Tripped Over a Root syndrome and didn't make it in -- or he got washed out as he tried to secure the hatch against the wave coming in.

He waited for TARS to take Brand inside first and was washed away.

 

[Trekker4747]

Just got back from it.... WOW! A lot to process. First of all, it seems very different from a leaked plot synopsis from a few months ago, granted I scarcely remember it.

Some good effects, good acting and generally a lot of good movie-making. But, Nolan.

It does feel *very* 2001.

I think to really understand and appreciate it you have to have some understanding of real-world, and theoretical, physics especially when it comes to space-time, wormholes, black-holes and so-forth. But I wouldn't say it's necessary, it'd just make the movie more enjoyable and likely easier to understand.

Good acting by McConaughey and everyone else involved. Shit, if I didn't know better I'd think this movie's been in production for 30 years because the actress they got to play the older version of McConaughey's daughter looks a lot like the actress playing the younger version.

Great movie, I'd probably rate it an A-. It has a moment or two of dragging and, well, it still leaves me with questions I'm not sure the movie sufficiently answered. But, overall the movie is good.

On a side note:

Anyone else kind of do a double-take when the robot mentions the tesseract collapsing? I know I did considering that's the name of one of the "Infinity Gems" in the MCU (seen in The Avengers) but then I realzied the real meaning of the word and got what it was going for.

_________________

To touch on some stuff from above, a black-hole isn't necessary for a wormhole, at least not in the sense we're shown in the movie as when the crew comes out of the wormhole they come out facing the black-hole and the planetary system. This black-hole is the (one of the) "star" of the system. There, obviously, had to be another -true- star in the system providing the heat and light to make the planets potential candidates for habitation. Some above said that it seemed suggested the black-hole was a sister to a neutron star which -from what we know- cannot support habitable planets but, I suppose, we could hand-wave away that it's "possible" we don't know everything and this happened to be a neutron start that did support a habitable planet. But a black-hole needs something to "feed" off of. Without a sister star or other formation a black-hole, from what I understand, isn't sustainable. It needs matter in order to function.

So the black-hole in the movie isn't necessary for the wormhole stuff, it just happened to be this particular system was around a black-hole that happened to have habitable planets around it and a companion star that helped those planets to be habitable.

But here's something I don't quite get (SPOILERS AHEAD!!)...


We find out through the course of the movie that at some point in the very, very, distant future humans evolved to fifth-dimensional beings that were able to create the wormhole near Saturn in order to help the 21st century humans to get someplace to survive.

Now, we're told planets on the otherside of the wormhole are "in another galaxy" which is just silly and that numerous astronauts sacrificed themselves in order to explore these other planets to find the one most suitable for colonization (or seeding.)

First of all... I'm not clear on how the astronauts used the wormhole to arrive at different destinations. I "guess" it depends on what angle you approached the wormhole from? Like whatever "star" you directed yourself at is where you ended up? Or the wormhole ended up in not just a binary system but a system with numerous stars all of which with habitable planets and it just so happened the planets around the black-hole had not yet been completely evaluated due to the problems that occurred with the ships sent to those specific planets.

Secondly, why didn't our descendants send us to a better planet? If they were fifth-dimensional they would've then been around for a very, very, very, very long time to reach that far into evolution. A point we cannot even be sure exists, a point that my expand to or past the point of the heat-death of the universe. So we're talking about very, very, very advanced beings. Beings with the knowledge of the entire universe and all of its secrets and, since they're fifth-dimensional, and all of the secrets of time.

So why send us to some planet, that's not too strictly great, that orbits a black-hole? Certainly in all of existence there's another planet around main-sequence star, like our sun, that's much more Earth like in terms of what the planet looks like and the variety of life it can sustain.

Like I said, in the movie the black-hole isn't necessary for the travel, the wormhole was seemingly artificial and when the crew emerged from it they didn't emerge from the black-hole they emerged from the other end of the wormhole.

And even if there was something about this specific set of planets that made them the most ideal candidates (in ALL OF THE UNIVERSE) why give us such a nebulous notion of which planet to use? Why make it so vague that a dozen or better astronauts had to visit and experiment on the planets to find the one to use? Why not set something up that pretty much said, "THIS ONE!" and make it easier?

We could probably bend around in the cause-and-effect thing of why the 5th-dimensional descendants were bound to these planets but I'd think 5th-dimensional beings (which would essentially be gods) wouldn't be bound by such things.

 

[RAMA]

Tesseract

http://geekmom.com/2014/03/tesseracts/

 

[Trekker4747]

Tesseract

http://geekmom.com/2014/03/tesseracts/

Yes, I know what a tesseract is, it's just that now I've so connected the word with the "Cosmic Cube" in the MCU movies that it took me a moment to disconnect that and reconnect it with the actual object, the meaning they were more-or-less going for in this movie.

 

[Warped9]

Maybe the next Star Trek movie can be like this, or have some inspiration from this, and maybe Hollywood can do more movies like this and Gravity.

I wouldn't hold my breath especially under JJ's tenure. And even after JJtrek is done I (sadly) doubt Trek will regain much of any intelligence it might have had.