Interstellar Movie Review

Interstellar (2014)

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Written by: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, David Oyelowo, Michael Caine, Timothée Chalamet, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, Matt Damon
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity's survival.

Verdict
Interstellar is amazing. The movie is about survival. Humanity faces extinction, and they must embark on a mission to colonize another planet. While there are wormholes and black holes thrown in, every story comes down to surviving. There's a dark side to survival too. Characters lie to themselves and are willing to harm others to ensure self survival. In addition to the theme of survival, the other idea contemplates how human are only willing to save the world if they can save themselves in the process.
It's a movie that showcases humanity's ability to adapt and improvise. Humans do the "impossible" because "it's necessary." Nearly every part of this movie feels epic and that's due in large to the score which is fantastic. The production value shows, creating believable planets while doing space justice. The movie is a lot of fun and has more than a couple emotional moments.
Watch it.

Review
My previous review is short and to the point, as are most of my reviews. Since I recently rewatched Interstellar I'm providing my expanded thoughts. I remember being enthralled with this movie when I saw it in the theater. I loved the music, the world, the concept, and the fight for survival.

Matthew McConaughey plays Coop.

The movie begins sometime in the future where the world is besieged by dust storms and food is scarce. Everyone is pushed to become a farmer in an attempt to bolster food production, but even then blight destroys acres of crops. Coop (Matthew McConaughey) is a former NASA pilot turned farmer who's just trying to survive.

Through a strange anomaly he discovers a secret NASA base. The public believed NASA had been defunded in favor of food production. Coop just happens to be the pilot NASA needs for a mission to discover a habitable planet. Venturing into space means he must leave his family behind for a perilous mission.

The crew and robot TARS on the first planet.

Once in space the movie tackles worm holes, black holes, relativity, and time dilation. Seeing these concepts on screen makes this fun, though a physicist was consulted for accuracy. The robots that assist the crew are a really neat design, impressive in the simplicity. The robots are composed of rectangular segments that allow them a surprising range of motion.

The first planet they explore doesn't welcome them, and we see time dilation firsthand. It really packs an impact when the crew leave the planet and return to the space station. Coop has effectively lost his family.

The space station Endurance.

The movie's focus is on humanity's ability to improvise and survive. Matt Damon's character Mann is the dark side of this. While I've read criticism that Mann doesn't belong in the movie, that character is an aspect of doing anything to survive. Mann was described as a hero, but even heroes have breaking points. Mann is a depiction of how far people will go to live. Mann is willing to risk everything for self survival. Mann's plight ties directly into Professor Brand's thoughts. Humans are willing to say they'll sacrifice, but in the back of their mind they bet on saving themselves too. Mann is a commentary on heroes portrayed in other movies.

Anne Hathaway plays Amelia Brand.

The will to live, and the desire to self satisfy reigns supreme. Coop wants to see his family again and makes decisions based on that fact.
Everything feeds into the idea of self preservation, either on a micro or macro level. Professor Brand's lifelong work has a big surprise. At one point he discusses how people are willing to save others as long as they are helping themselves in the process, but people aren't willing to help future generations at the cost of their own lives.
Mann lies to save himself and "complete the mission," but his definition of the mission has changed. Amelia Brand has a highly criticized speech about trusting love over science. Context is important. She's in love with Edmunds and is trying to justify to herself and Coop why they should go to Edmunds' planet. She's not objective and Coop states that, but Coop isn't completely objective either. Amelia isn't presenting a good faith argument of trusting love over science. She wants to see Edmunds, but that reason alone isn't enough. She's grasping at straws to get her way. Towards the end of the movie her speech becomes quite ironic.
Much of the movie can be summed up by the dialog "It's not possible. No, but it is necessary." That's not a cut to the movie, it isn't an indulgent film. That quote sums up the plot. Humans venture into unknown space, using a wormhole and hoping everything works out. Failure is a reality every step of the way, but humans don't give up easily.

This movie nearly defines epic. This journey that spans space and time riding on humanity's will to survive, to improvise, to love, is a story of hope and resilience. The score certainly aids the epic feeling, but the first planet and Mann's air lock scene inspire awe.

I like the note on which the movie ends. It's a glimmer of hope for the future as Coop leaves the past behind, though the past has already moved beyond him. It's a bittersweet moment as he's been displaced from time.