Have little interest in this, was someone who liked 'Inception' but thought it was overlong, and dragged heavily in the last act…..no interest in space or intergalactic adventures, but I guess I will see this anyway, at least to join any conversation. Why couldn't Nolan do a crime thriller like 'Following'? fukk space.
Chris Nolan's next film: Interstellar
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TheGodling
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I just got back from it and it most certainly is a polarizing film, especially for a guy like me who is already very polarized Christopher Nolan (and the contributions of his brother).
I think Interstellar in its finest moments represents the best the Nolans have to offer, and I can say that for at least an hour and a half (maybe two) I was watching the best Nolan movie since The Prestige. However, no matter how interesting this journey into the unknown is, it's not without a couple of bad turns. And as the movie presses on, the bad turns become more prevalent as we get closer to high concept scifi elements, where Nolan's lack of imagination (see also the rather unimaginative dream sequences in Inception) gets in the way of embracing the full scope and craziness of those elements. Add that those high concept elements are basically used only to deliver some really low concept melodrama and the ending is basically a gigantic tonal clusterfukk.
So yeah, the ending had me pissed. In fact, even the literal ending had me pissed.
Now before I get back to what I did like, let me just give me one more complaint about the movie:
And that complaint is pretty much the start of the downfall of this movie, which brings me to everything that is great about the movie, that is, everything before it (I'll repeat that the 90 or 120 minutes are amongst the Nolans' best). You got great, genuine character interactions with dialogue that works (the parent meeting at school, the banter between McConaughey and Lithgow, my main man TARS) and great acting (Young Murph is incredible and I should note here that she and Jessica Chastain really were on the same wavelength with their performances as the younger and older Murph). I actually have to add a complaint here, that the second half of the movie kept removing all the good actors only to replace them with the likes of Topher Grace and Casey Affleck just 'scusting up the screen. There's a lot of world-building but without too much exposition (I could've done without the old people talking heads though) which works and they save most of the scientific mumbo jumbo until it becomes absolutely necessary. It all works so well it actually makes me hate how it ends even more. They just had so much going on here before it went to shyt.
Which brings me to my final thought, which is kinda random, and might be perceived as blasphemous, but it's long due for Hans Zimmer to get cut. Ever since Incepti-horns became a hype he seems to think that just blaring bass all over the place is cool, and half the soundtrack is just muddling up the audio for no good reason (especially during scenes that also feature the blaring sound of rocket engines and G-forces simultaneously). When he isn't trying to bring the loudness war to the silver screen, he goes back to his older self, the infamous rip-off composer, here doing his best Philip Glass impression. He pulls it off, no doubt, but as a Philip Glass fan I'm still equal parts disgusted by how shamelessly he steals the man's unique sound.
All in all it certainly has more to offer than Nolan's recent efforts, but perhaps Nolan should watch a bunch of Studio Ghibli or ol' Disney movies so he can finally learn about this concept called 'imagination' that he seems to have no understanding of.
I think Interstellar in its finest moments represents the best the Nolans have to offer, and I can say that for at least an hour and a half (maybe two) I was watching the best Nolan movie since The Prestige. However, no matter how interesting this journey into the unknown is, it's not without a couple of bad turns. And as the movie presses on, the bad turns become more prevalent as we get closer to high concept scifi elements, where Nolan's lack of imagination (see also the rather unimaginative dream sequences in Inception) gets in the way of embracing the full scope and craziness of those elements. Add that those high concept elements are basically used only to deliver some really low concept melodrama and the ending is basically a gigantic tonal clusterfukk.
Humans that evolved to be able to survive in the fifth dimension and reconstruct all time of a single room into a 3D object so one man can tell his daughter to save the world through pulling on cosmic strings is something that I would love in say, a Grant Morrison comic, someone who would deliver on the pure craziness of that concept. And at least with Spielberg (previously attached to the project), you'd know the melodrama, corny as it might be, would be in good hands. And he's a man that knows his inspired sci fi visuals. In the cold, dead hands of Christopher Nolan, the concept is presented as dry as possible, lacking any real emotional impact, nor delivering on 2001-type mind-blowing revelations. It's just there, delivered to you in the form of a cinematic essay.
So yeah, the ending had me pissed. In fact, even the literal ending had me pissed.
The ending shot of Brand on the habitable planet seemed so empty and pointless. If they wanted to show us she was still out there, or that there was hope, they should've shown us earlier. Now we get our proper ending (Cooper going back to space again) with music swelling up before cutting to a tacked on pointless shot with the music just dropping out as the credits hit, and no impact is achieved.
Now before I get back to what I did like, let me just give me one more complaint about the movie:
Matt Damon's villain turn was so cliché it took me instantly back to Danny Boyle's Sunshine, another interesting space movie that diverted its captivating plot to give us the ol' "guy that went crazy in a remote location" shtick a la Heart Of Darkness (yes, I caught the "Heart Of Darkness" shout-out in the movie but it still doesn't justify this shyt). At least it lead to one of the best moments (and shots) in the movie, the desperate Dr. Mann fukking up the docking causing depressurization of the Endurance to blow up part of the ship.
And that complaint is pretty much the start of the downfall of this movie, which brings me to everything that is great about the movie, that is, everything before it (I'll repeat that the 90 or 120 minutes are amongst the Nolans' best). You got great, genuine character interactions with dialogue that works (the parent meeting at school, the banter between McConaughey and Lithgow, my main man TARS) and great acting (Young Murph is incredible and I should note here that she and Jessica Chastain really were on the same wavelength with their performances as the younger and older Murph). I actually have to add a complaint here, that the second half of the movie kept removing all the good actors only to replace them with the likes of Topher Grace and Casey Affleck just 'scusting up the screen. There's a lot of world-building but without too much exposition (I could've done without the old people talking heads though) which works and they save most of the scientific mumbo jumbo until it becomes absolutely necessary. It all works so well it actually makes me hate how it ends even more. They just had so much going on here before it went to shyt.
Which brings me to my final thought, which is kinda random, and might be perceived as blasphemous, but it's long due for Hans Zimmer to get cut. Ever since Incepti-horns became a hype he seems to think that just blaring bass all over the place is cool, and half the soundtrack is just muddling up the audio for no good reason (especially during scenes that also feature the blaring sound of rocket engines and G-forces simultaneously). When he isn't trying to bring the loudness war to the silver screen, he goes back to his older self, the infamous rip-off composer, here doing his best Philip Glass impression. He pulls it off, no doubt, but as a Philip Glass fan I'm still equal parts disgusted by how shamelessly he steals the man's unique sound.
All in all it certainly has more to offer than Nolan's recent efforts, but perhaps Nolan should watch a bunch of Studio Ghibli or ol' Disney movies so he can finally learn about this concept called 'imagination' that he seems to have no understanding of.
Ok...something doesnt make sense and they fukked up by going away with the alien route. If the evolved humans were the ones that built the wormholes and the 3d room....they are no doubt the descendants of the Brand colony or the colony that made it off earth due to Murphy figuring out how to harness gravity via her dad.
This would imply that those "future" humans made it off earth somehow....but how??
How did the evolved humans make it off earth if they were the creators of the worm holes that got us out of our galaxy in the first place???????
This means there is an infinite loop but how did it begin????
This would imply that those "future" humans made it off earth somehow....but how??
How did the evolved humans make it off earth if they were the creators of the worm holes that got us out of our galaxy in the first place???????
This means there is an infinite loop but how did it begin????
I'm going to see this movie tomorrow evening, but the fact you are saying "lack of imagination" with INCEPTION makes me give you suspect for a little bit, basically because the whole entire POINT was it to make it APPEAR not as a dream. Also, being that this film is based on BOTH hardcore scientific fact and crazy mathematical theory of extreme (maybe's), I AM curious in what you mean by "lack of imagination" when it is based on mathematical plausibility and theoretical presumption... I got a STRONG feeling people were expecting some Kubrick type of 3rd act which was purely just made up fantasy and not based on some type of scientific scale.
Not denying you, just having a GUT feeling. Based on all the reviews I've read, the 3rd act is either something SOME with love and something SOME would hate. But definitely something that is controversial nevertheless.
I loved it
I do agree that the first act was amazing
I could see the 2nd half being bumpy for some, but for me I loved it.
some truly touching moments in there and also some intense edge of your seat suspense
I enjoyed zimmerman's score..it gave me anxiety in a good way for some of the more intense moments
i can definitely see why some didn't like it and it did get a bit talky in the 2nd half, but it worked for me.
i do agree that it dips a bit once
but i actually liked the last act
but then again i've been a nolan stan since damn near day one
my girl loved it too and she HATES going to the movies and she hates long movies
i'm curious to see what the USER score will be on RT as this may be super polarizing
I do agree that the first act was amazing
I could see the 2nd half being bumpy for some, but for me I loved it.
some truly touching moments in there and also some intense edge of your seat suspense
I enjoyed zimmerman's score..it gave me anxiety in a good way for some of the more intense moments
i can definitely see why some didn't like it and it did get a bit talky in the 2nd half, but it worked for me.
i do agree that it dips a bit once
matt damon shows up
but then again i've been a nolan stan since damn near day one
my girl loved it too and she HATES going to the movies and she hates long movies
i'm curious to see what the USER score will be on RT as this may be super polarizing
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I didn't realize so many people seem to take issue with the idea of Nolan being a top film maker, so many reviews are going out their ways to try and downplay that idea like guys Nolan has flaws !!! I didn't see near the delving into of the director in Gravity as this seems to be getting
the next guy
Superstar
it will be piff.
Pm me for your review
TheGodling
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I thought a huge issue with Inception was that for a dreamworld it just looked so generic. It didn't have to go all Paprika on me but the dreamscape really doesn't go further than a spinning hallway and a train driving through traffic. I've got the same feeling here, that Nolan lets 'realism' limit the possibilities of his ideas for no good reason. Maybe it's just that (the idea that everything needs to be grounded as much as possible) but at times it really does come off as Nolan just not having the imagination for it either. The third act follows that line because it does go all Kubrick on us in the sense it's pure made-up high concept scifi fantasy, but the way Nolan puts it on the screen is about as generic as possible and like I said in spoilers, I think a more imaginative filmmaker could have nailed it. And I think that's the real reason some critics have started to acknowledge the limitations of Nolan's vision, because no other movie has ever pushed Nolan this close to material so 'out there' that it becomes clear how much he refrains from actually going there.
And that sucks, because again, in the movie's finest moments we get to see Nolan at his absolute best.
It's actually quite the opposite. In fact what you're saying doesn't make much sense. There's very few films that have explored 'space' is this manner. If there's one thing that I can't criticize this film for, is its imagination. How can you say he didn't use the 'full scope and craziness' of these 'hi concept scifi elements' when the
gravitational slingshot, wormhole and fifth dimension sequences are basically illustrated as close to theoretical astrophysics you can get.
Another thing that I disagree with, the character interactions are pretty much the worst aspect about the film. Very little of the dialogue works. You rarely give a fukk about any of the characters because there's no backing there. They're just there to be used as instruments for the journey. It doesn't help that there actions/motives don't make one bit of sense.
And Nolan carries it out as such. Overall you can't criticize the height of the film's vision. Suspension of disbelief, sure. But the film has wild imagination. In fact you could argue that its vision is too big for its own good.
The human element is what ruins the film, or should I say lack of.
TheGodling
Los Ingobernables de Sala de Cine
I was mostly referring to the final act, which delves into concepts beyond any existing theory. For the rest of the space stuff, this approach works because it is based on existing concepts and ideas. The same basically goes for 2001 which is largely about space exploration based on existing concepts and one act delving into the complete unknown.
I think this complaint only counts for the second half of the movie
after the kids become adults and it's all about Murph to the point you can wonder why they put Cooper's son (whose name I can't even remember) in the movie in the first place, because nothing he does matters and there's not even a conclusion to his character. Then you've got Brand's big speech about the power of love which definitely feels heavy handed but I thought at least fit the overall message the movie tried to convey, and Mann's actions which I've already said was the point where the movie started to lose it.
All the first act stuff though with Cooper trying to raise his children in a world where hope has died and his beliefs making him a 'man out of time' was perfect to me though. I can't see anyone finding fault in that stuff.
All the first act stuff though with Cooper trying to raise his children in a world where hope has died and his beliefs making him a 'man out of time' was perfect to me though. I can't see anyone finding fault in that stuff.
I can't criticize the height of the film's vision, I can criticize that Nolan isn't quite up to par to reach those heights. Its vision is only too big for its own good because Nolan's vision doesn't extend beyond the point where theory becomes fantasy.