INTERSTELLAR

hollywoodreporter.com

Directed by: Christopher Nolan 
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, Michael Caine, Wes Bentley, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon. 
Running Time: 169 min

In the age of comic book and young adult novels adapted into screen, something "original" is a breeze of fresh air. Although this so called originality comes in almost three hours. Christopher Nolan is back with another mind bending spectacle. Mind bending in a sense that the story inspired by physics in space and he mixed drama and physics as an interesting tale.

It is colossal but also personal. It also redeem the "disappointing" The Dark Knight Rises from Nolan and reminds me of Inception's originality. Some might want to take reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey but in my personal opinion it has elements from Contact (1995) too. Nolan takes on the idealism from 2001, and put a family drama in this thrilling space saga.

It started in some Midwest USA farm where Cooper (Matthew McConaughey, this year's Oscar winner for Dallas Buyers Club) living with Tom (Timothée Chalamet), Murph (Mackenzie Foy), and Donald (John Lithgow), his father in law. The world is somehow suffering from food crisis and by that, oxygen can be scarce. So the NASA scientist asked Cooper to be the pilot of a mission to find a new planet, helped by a wormhole they found in Saturn. Who put he wormhole? It is a mystery inside a mystery.

Full with physical jargon that can make lazy people cringe, this is a journey worth every minute of it. Sure some other reviewers complained about the amount of lagging drama, but not me. I like the drama and the science behind it. Wormholes and other phenomenon at space depicted as scientifically as possible. 

In terms of building up suspension and grand scenes, Nolan wins. He proves that he can make something grand also complicated. Gasps can be heard and if you are some science purist out there, relax, it is just a movie with imagination and good music score. No need to point out inaccuracies or some holes, since Interstellar has less holes than The Avengers.

I do wish that in the future, Hollywood producers will put much priority for "original" screenplay like this. Dazzle the viewers like what they used to make in the 80s with Indiana Jones or Star Wars. Stop adapting comics and embrace the world of unknown, just like what Cooper did in Interstellar.