Interstellar Movie Review

By: Lynn Barker

Have you ever just looked up at the stars and wondered if there were other Earth-like planets up there? In the new film Interstellar, Mankind has a huge reason to wonder. Tween Murphy (Breaking Dawn’s Mackenzie Foy) has always looked to the stars. She is super smart but, with the entire planet turning into a big dry dust bowl and starvation in her future, she is freaked when her dad, a former astronaut/test pilot turned farmer, is picked to lead a mission to find us all a new home……in the stars!

Cooper and daughter hope there is a new home out there.Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Dusty Beginnings

For a long time, Earth has been very dry and dusty. Crops are all starting to die. There are no more wars, no more armies and most of the people on the planet, no matter what they studied and accomplished in the past, are now farmers trying to keep us alive. Tween Murphy Cooper, a very smart, tomboy nerd, and her dad called Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and teen bro, struggle against horrible dust storms to keep their last corn crop alive.

Ghost?

When books move in Murphy’s room, she gets the feeling that a ghost or “force” is trying to tell her something, she just can’t figure out what. She brings dad in on what she sees and together they figure out that it has something to do with gravity. There is actually a message from the “ghost” giving them coordinates. They’ve got to follow them.

Cooper shows his kids an old lunar moduleCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

NASA Lives!

Cooper and Murphy end up at a secret NASA facility where a kindly scientist/professor named Brand (Sir Michael Caine) welcomes them. He knows Cooper from when he was a NASA test pilot.  His daughter scientist/astronaut Amelia Brand (Anne Hathaway) butts heads for a while with Cooper while Brand reveals a two part plan to save the people of Earth. Yes, it’s THAT bad here.

Cooper and crew get ready to awaken a hibernating astronautCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Explorers have already secretly been sent to look for a new home through a wormhole to other galaxies that has recently just appeared near planet Saturn. Three worlds have been scouted and might be possible homes. Brand needs Cooper, Amelia and two more astronauts to go through the wormhole in space to see which world is best. Meanwhile Brand will perfect his theories on how to work with gravity to launch all of Mankind off our dying planet to a new home. Otherwise, human baby embryos will make the trip so at least future humans can live …out there.

Amelia (Anne Hathaway) hopes the last planet will be our new home

Looking for Home

Murphy is very angry and upset that her dad is leaving her. He may never come back. Time in space is different. He may come back and she’ll be a grown woman! He has to leave, very sad that she won’t say goodbye to him.

Cooper tells daughter (Mackenzie Foy) why he has to go to spaceCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Many adventures on the scouted worlds are in store for our brave crew; one world is all water and loaded with mega-giant ocean waves, another is all solid ice. Cooper realizes that much more time has passed on Earth than for him in space. Murphy will be grown. He sees recorded messages sent to him from Earth. Now adult Murphy (Jessica Chastain) is still angry that he left and his son is grown and has a family. Cooper is still trying to save them before it’s too late.

Amelia (Anne Hathaway) struggles after a water landingCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Who is the “Ghost”?

With only one world left to explore, it looks like the crew won’t make it but Cooper and a smart robot sent on the trip survive. You see, Cooper, working from a space/time future, is the ghost Murphy encountered moving things in her room. Cooper has a message for her. She is so smart that she will grow up to be a scientist who can save Mankind, if only she can understand dad’s message from beyond time and space. Will the last new world be right for our new home? Will Cooper get his message across? Will grown up Murphy figure out how to save our species?

Cooper trying to survive a new worldCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Wrapping Up

Interstellar is a beautiful movie. It has a beautiful heart and beautiful visuals. It has a lot to say about Man’s survival instinct and how that instinct can be driven by love; specifically the love of one human being for another and that of a dad for his kids. Love and caring can conquer time and space and even survive eons if it means loved ones can be supported to survive.

Actors in the film give great performances, especially Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, MacKenzie Foy and Anne Hathaway. There are some really sad moments and also a lot of hope fostered in the movie. It will make you think. The film is huge in scope and captures the vastness of space and time while still being intimate enough to make you care not only about Cooper and his family but also about our whole species. Can we survive a dying Earth?

Amelia (Anne Hathaway) looks to the stars and wondersCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

The problem, especially for tweens and younger teens is that, although researched and based in scientific truth, the plot might be confusing. While you will understand the human relationships and family love and conflict, the whole space/time thing might throw you off. The movie is also almost three hours long so don’t expect your younger bro or sis to stay awake! For smart, older teens, Interstellar should be a cool adventure with a lot of heart and food for thought. Some scenes will make you want to whip out the Kleenex, others are exciting.  If you are a young, confused tween you probably won’t agree but we give this epic attempt to show Man at his best, 4 stars.

Interstellar Movie Rating:

Interstellar PosterCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Interstellar is in theaters now!