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Interstellar


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I watched this movie on DVD over the weekend. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't what the film turned out to be.

If you are an old-school classic Asimov/Clarke/Heinlein/Bradbury sci-fi fan, then this is a movie you should see for the image it brings to the screen. An incredible "wow" factor without any monsters or space battles. Some gut-wrenching scenes when things go wrong (or right). It's a movie that had me riveted to my seat.

But when it was over, I realized that somewhere along the line, the wheels had fallen off the bus.

For all the technology on display, there are HUGE holes in the story and the science. In several places, the plot hinges on science but does so without even a modest attempt at explanation. It left me feeling that for all the drama and imagery, it's not a movie I would want to watch again because I know I would end up picking it to pieces the second time around.

The movie couldn't decided what it wanted to be. It wasn't an action movie, but it had action scenes (that relied on loud music a bit too much). It wasn't a character driven drama, but it had a good deal of overly contrived emotion and recriminations. It wasn't a morality story but there was a great deal of moralizing.

The ending is so ambiguous in so many ways that I still don't know what was supposed to be happening. Clearly there is a planned sequel.

Edited by Graham Smith
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Interstellar is one of those movies that, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, benefits from multiple viewings. I knew it was that kind of film going into it.

Gravity was a great movie to me as well, though my familiarity with manned spaceflight history allows me to pick it apart much more thoroughly than I could with Interstellar. Some things you just have to get by. Still entertaining.

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As a previous Space Shuttle astronaut instructor with masters degrees in astrophysics & geological engineering & a BS degree in aerospace engineering I go to science fiction movies just to have fun ... the whole 'suspension of disbelief' thing. If I worried about how little Hollywood cares or understands about science I'd never go to the movies ... and I love going to the movies ... specifically for the escape from reality ...

there was this one movie that came out while I was an active NASA instructor which had something to do with Space Shuttles so about 6 of us instructors went to see the movie and spent the whole time critquing everything that was wrong about how Space Shuttle ops really worked ... never made that mistake again ....

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I started reading juvenile science fiction from authors like Heinlein when I was a kid in the 50's. At that point in my life, terms like "willing suspension of disbelief" and "internal consistency" had no meaning - the books were about an impossibly distant future and were as real to me as anything could be. Today, I'm more of a critic.

Now, I like speculative fiction but am somewhat bothered by books and films that play at being hard science fiction but don't take the time to do their homework so almost every little bit of technobabble becomes a plot device, by necessity.

But that's still not the problem I have with this movie. It tried to be too many things and the plot(s) just fell apart each time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I found the movie engaging albeit from many holes in the plot. Reading other interviews with the Director Christopher Nolan it apparently had to be "dumbed down" with a happy ending so it would be more palatable for western audiences.....or in an effort to sell more tickets. I felt it had so much potential but fell a little short. Still worth seeing compared to most of what Hollyweird is producing though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Was a huge fan of the film, found the plot line engaging and daring. The use of concepts like the 5th dimension, time dilation, etc was a expertly included into the plotline without seeming forced. Was well acted by all involved. 4.5/5, will definitely want to see again.

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  • 1 month later...
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  • 4 weeks later...

They had the same issue many sci-fi movies do, how to portray a multi dimensional universe, with only three dimensions. I think they pulled it off better than most. I did enjoy it a lot more the second time I watched it.

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