The holiday season has started just a little bit early with Interstellar and Big Hero 6 both hitting theaters last weekend. Interstellar has been buzzed about all over TV, the internet, and likely your local pub/coffee shop. It’s a rare piece of filmmaking we don’t get to see very often, but the question on your mind if you haven’t already seen it is “should I really buy into the hype and check it out? ” or “what makes this the movie I should drop my bank on?”
Interstellar is an adventure into deep space based on real quantum mechanics and metaphysics, but is also about the power of love and how it transcends time and space to bring our race together. It’s not just a movie, it’s a pop culture phenomenon with the potential to impact the blockbuster in the same way The Matrix or Jurassic Park did in the 90s. It’s an experience, and most importantly, it challenges big budget movies by giving you something really noteworthy to walk away with.
Interstellar is Nolan’s 9th directed movie so Renegade Cinema is here to convince you to check out 9 reasons not to last weekend’s massive release.
9. It’s the biggest movie of the year
When I say Interstellar is the biggest movie of the year, I’m not talking about buzz or popularity(although this movie has a lot of that going on). I mean the size and scope of Nolan’s deep space venture is about as massive as they come. Even Kubrick’s 2001 seems comparatively small at times which makes this film mind numbingly big. Black holes, worm holes, time travel; this movie is gigantic.
8. Nolan Takes On Humor….and Succeeds!
It’s a mild applause, but Nolan has never really been good at being funny. Usually he sneaks in a few witty lines here and there to get some chuckles, but Interstellar features a character dedicated to comedic relief and actually pulls it off!
7. McConaughey leads a Stellar Cast
Everywhere you look in Interstellar, there’s another super-star popping in for a few minutes. Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Wes Bently, Jessica Chastain, ect. The list goes on and on. I would never want to spoil the fun, but even the smallest bit characters are filled with notable actors you’ll no doubt recognize.
6. Hans Zimmer…in a Theater
We all love Hans Zimmer! He’s done classics like Pirates of The Caribbean, The Lion King, Inception, and The Last Samurai, and he’s hit another home run with Interstellar. Yes, he does in fact continue his trend of hitting you upside the head with excessive amounts of bass, but in this case, you really won’t care. Zimmer’s score drives all of the film’s strongest sequences that would otherwise feel significantly less inspired. Nolan’s craftsmanship goes without question, but this film wouldn’t have the emotional impact or the gravitas if it weren’t for Zimmer’s impressive score. It’ll literally blow your socks off.
5. It’s a space epic unlike anything we’ve seen in DECADES
We’ve seen Star Wars style space adventures and we’ve seen space thrillers like Event Horizon, but not since the original Star Trek series have we seen such an ambitious space voyage into the unknown. There are a number of movies set in space or other talking raccoon filled galaxies, but none of them have been this seemingly grounded in scientific theory and heartfelt character drama. The only movie that even attempts as this type of RAW exploration is comes close is 1997’s Contact(which also featured McConaughey) and it doesn’t hold a flame to Nolan’s all immersive experience.
4. It’s Christopher Freaking Nolan!
Christopher Nolan has gotten in the habit of putting out one movie every couple of years and by this point it’s become an event cinephiles live for. Nolan is the master of delivering cerebral movies designed to keep you awake for several nights in a row as you digest his rich story full of riddles. Interstellar is actually a huge step out of Nolan’s comfort zone as he attempts to make a great American love story between one man and his daughter. We get a chance to see another side to the director who has up to this point has had a reputation for being calculating.
3. Repeat Viewings
What’s that? You’ve already spent your money to see Chris Nolan’s space epic? You’ve already lost sleep muling over the movie’s twists, turns, and high sci-fi concepts? You need help…but before you get help, you need to see this movie again. There are so many different layers and moving part to this film I promise you didn’t quite digest. Themes of human nature and the morality of truth are all but buried under a movie too busy to stop and talk about it. I’m sure if you’ve seen it, you likely can’t wait to take another trip to Saturn in one of the film’s make jaw dropping sequences.
2. The IMAX experience is Out of This World
This is a movie designed to be seen on the big screen. Christopher Nolan filmed over an hour of this movie on 70mm film and to see this movie on an even a slightly above average screen would be a huge disservice to yourself. Go see this in the biggest theater you can possibly find, even if that means driving an hour or more to see it on a glorious IMAX screen in the format this movie was designed for. This is a really good movie, but an even more INCREDIBLE experience that you just won’t be able to replicate in your home theater no matter how big your screen is. Don’t miss out and wait for DVD and keep those torrents to a minimum because these opportunities only come around a few times a lifetime.
1. It Makes Way For Conversations You’ll Be Having For Months to Come
This is a movie you’ll want to see with some great movie going company. I’m talking about the type of company you’ll want to take to coffee or beer afterward where you’ll sit and talk about it. Two weeks from now, you’ll be in your office or at a family get together where people will still be talking about it. Next summer, people will still be talking about it when most of the run of the mill superhero blockbusters runs thin. For better or worse, this will be a movie audiences, critics, and filmmakers will be talk about for years because there really is nothing else out there like it. There are other IMAX experiences out there, but none like this. There are other space explorations out there, but none like this. There are other Nolan movies, but none like this. You won’t want to miss Interstellar in the IMAX because it’ll be one of the great experiences you’ll be thinking about with friends and strangers years from now. Do you really want to remember that you caught it on DVD and missed out on one of the flagship movie going experience of our generation?
