Interstellar Review

RYAN: My expectations could not have been higher going into this movie because it’s Christopher Nolan, it has been shrouded in secrecy, the cast is amazing and it seemed to be cool.  This movie is epic – but primarily in length. Walking out of the screening, however, the last thing I’m thinking is, “Wow you have to see this.”  I’m so disappointed.

MICHAEL: It was good but not great and it’s definitely not fun.  It took itself way too seriously.  It borrows so much from other movies but without any satire.  A lot of this reminded me of Signs.

RYAN: It reminded me of Signs, of Contact… I wanted it to be this year’s Gravity. But I love all of those movies.  They’re great but this one pails in comparison.  So who cares if it’s derivative of when it’s just bad.  It’s not as emotionally engaging or profound or chilling in a good way or just even as entertaining as any of those movies.  It’s way too long!

MICHAEL: Way too long.

RYAN: It’s three hours and should have been under two.  Very few movies can get away with great length and Interstellar is an example why movies shouldn’t be too long.

MICHAEL: It felt long for the sake of being long.

RYAN: It’s like Nolan is at a place where he just told everyone to back off and let him do what he wants to do but someone really needed to reel him in on this project.  I was bored for two hours in this movie.

MICHAEL: And the sound is weird.  Michael Caine has one scene where I assume what he was saying was very poignant but I couldn’t understand anything he was saying.  The music was very overpowering too.

RYAN: Right off the bat, from the very beginning I was very confused in this movie.  And I’m usually the one explaining to people what was going on after a movie.  I don’t know if it’s the science or just the storytelling but it really hangs you out to dry much of the time.

MICHAEL: Earth wasn’t designed.  You really don’t know what’s going on or why there’s such a problem with earth.  You have to assume it’s somewhere in the future but it doesn’t look it.

RYAN: Also, this skewed from my expectations in the sense that it’s not a movie about outer space or space travel.  It’s just about relationships and the emotional attachment between people.  That’s lovely but it’s decorated with all of these things that should be exciting.  With the exception of one suspenseful scene, the rest is just a snooze.

MICHAEL: The casting was good but nothing was shocking.

RYAN: For a movie where the stakes could not have been higher – saving the human race – you don’t feel that intensity.  Where’s the suspense?  It’s too slow, too sciency.  It’s just too much.

MICHAEL: I really liked John Lithgow in this.

RYAN: He was good.  I love Jessica Chastain.  She was a standout for me.  Matt and Anne didn’t do anything spectacular.  Anne just kept reminding me of a young Liza Minnelli in this.

MICHAEL: There’s a lot of intercutting between what’s happening on earth and in space and a lot of the earth stuff just seemed like filler.  It was all redundant.

RYAN: There’s the obligatory robot character but this one was a big box that sounded totally human.

MICHAEL: And once again, a complete lack of design.

RYAN: And why was Matt McConaughey so tan and orange?  He never sees the sun in this movie.  And he whispers a lot.

MICHAEL: I really didn’t love this movie.

RYAN: Because of the cast and Nolan and some of the effects, I’d argue if you’re gonna see it, watch it in the theater, but I’m not recommending it because it kinda sucks.  I can’t say rent it, because if I had been watching this at home, I wouldn’t have gotten all the way through it.  So instead, check out one of the better movies playing now.

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