Movie Review: Interstellar

Last night I saw Christopher Nolan’s latest, Interstellar, a film about a desperate mission through a black hole to find a new home for humanity before the Earth becomes uninhabitable. It’s mostly hard sci-fi, softened with a bit of metaphysics, but at its heart is a story about a father and his daughter.

While it’s great to see thoughtful sci-fi getting more big screen treatment these days, I can’t say as I recommend it unless you’ve really got your heart set on it. I enjoyed much of the movie, but something happened about 2/3rds of the way through that felt like the Idiot Ball had somehow found its way into the film, right into a particular character’s hands. It really took me out of the movie, and I spent the rest of the film’s 2 hours and 45 minutes annoyed, bored, or waiting for it to end. It soured my suspension of disbelief , which I really needed toward the end, given my (admittedly layperson’s) understanding about the effect of gravitational tidal forces when approaching a black hole…

It’s a shame, because the actors do a great job, Nolan clearly put a lot of effort into this movie, and there really are some good ideas. (And given that trying to find a viable way to leave a dying society for a new home among the stars is an element in my own novel series The New Aeneid Cycle–although that doesn’t really come into play until book two–I enjoyed seeing Nolan’s take on it.)

I don’t want to go into spoilers at the moment, so for now I’ll just leave you with my initial tweeted reactions just after seeing it…

Just saw #Interstellar. If you’re REALLY curious about it, go see it, but otherwise there are better ways to spent 2 hours and 45 minutes.

— Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) November 8, 2014

I was enjoying it up to the point where they had to give someone the Idiot Ball. That dropped me right out of the movie. #Interstellar — Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) November 8, 2014

Heh. He was named “Mann.” Subtle. 😛 #Interstellar

— Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) November 8, 2014

I did like the robots. Though I think they needed better feet. 🙂 #Interstellar — Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) November 8, 2014

(The robots were great. At first I thought the boxy design would never work, but then they showed more potential than I’d first thought. I really did have to wonder about the traction they’d get, though. Is the bottom covered in rubber?)

Oh, and apparently it doesn’t matter if something is impossible if it’s NECESSARY! 😀 #IDoNotThinkItMeansWhatYouThinkItMeans #Interstellar

— Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) November 8, 2014

That last tweet is related to this dialogue–which I’m paraphrasing because I no longer remember it exactly–regarding a maneuvering a ship in such a way as to dock with a wildly spinning craft: “It is impossible.” “But it’s necessary!” (So it doesn’t matter if something is physically impossible? If you need to do it, you can do it? Ye cannae change the laws of physics, Captain!)

So, like I said, I don’t really recommend it, but if you’re really curious, you may as well check it out.

Heh. This could be thought of as a prequel to Firefly, in a sense, telling the tale of “Earth That Was.”