Interstellar

Interstellar is the wildest ride you will take in movies this year, and star Matthew McConaughey wants you to climb on board his spaceship because he is going to drive it nice and smooth just like when he takes his Lincoln down the road for a spin.

McConaughey stars as Cooper – a former engineer and pilot who runs a farm because society has changed from high tech to a more agrarian lifestyle. It wasn’t by choice (even if it is pleasing to see a world where people don’t have their faces buried in their cell phones). The planet is dying and about the only crop that still grows is corn, and even that won’t last forever.

Secretly, NASA has been working on a project to save humanity, and Cooper stumbles across it when strange messages and anomalies begin to occur around his home. His old mentor, Professor Brand (Michael Caine), recruits the pilot to join up for this one last desperate mission to save everyone on the planet, but it could mean Cooper will never see his family again, especially his beloved daughter, Murph (Mackenzie Foy).

Can Cooper and the team save humanity?

Will he return to see his daughter?

You will see all sorts of people trying to analyze Interstellar for what it means or what kind of message co-writer/director Christopher Nolan is trying to send, but the movie simply is a massive epic running hand in hand with a more personal story about love. Forget about what it means and just go for the mind blowing, heart wrenching ride that may leave you a bit bewildered at times, but thrilled most of the time.

Interstellar is an amazing example of how a great movie pulls together fantastic storytelling, excellent acting and extraordinary moviemaking to be one of the best films you will ever see. Granted, it is not for everyone. You have to be willing to open up your mind and embrace the cosmic to love Interstellar, but everyone can appreciate the heartfelt, human side of the movie.

Nolan and his co-writer/brother Jonathan Nolan ground the more esoteric Interstellar with the relationship between Cooper and his daughter, which is the most relatable storyline in the world. Interstellar is full of all sorts of these storytelling layers to help keep the non-Sci Fi fan awake, while also appealing to those who are more willing to explore.

On the one hand, we are seeing a movie about the fight for the survival of humankind as this team travels through space to go where no one has gone before (I couldn’t resist). They need to make massive decisions that will alter the future of our existence.

On the other hand, it’s about one man and what he is willing to do to see his beloved daughter one more time. It’s about the most basic emotions we all feel for the people in our lives. We believe it all because of McConaughey.

McConaughey gives Interstellar its spirit and humanity. We see his eyes light up as Cooper talks about man as an explorer who should be moving forward instead of destroying technology and ignoring our true nature to see what is out there.

We get to feel his pain as Cooper has to make the hardest decision anyone would have to face when choosing whether or not to abandon his family to save them. Most of all, he gives Cooper the steady voice of reason and moral authority as the scientists try to rely on data and theory to guide them.

Then, Nolan packages that performance, along with several others (Foy is awesome!), into a movie that grabs your attention visually and audibly. The scenes in space brilliantly capture the isolation these explorers feel, the claustrophobia of being stuck in that ship, but also the unending space around them. And, I think Nolan is better than most at using sound to impact the audience, from the silence of space to the rumbling and rocking of the ship as it goes through turmoil.

It may take a little while to get to the heart of the action, but when we do, hold on to your seat!

Interstellar is rated PG-13 for some intense perilous action and brief strong language.