So I finally saw Interstellar.
And as I feared, I was very disappointed. Not sure what I expected, but I know what I hoped for. Because of all the hype around “the science” and scientists involved I thought it was going to be about the physics of going through a wormhole, about exploring different worlds in another solarsystem, contending with exotic conditions and exploring the bounds of physics and known science.
In short I had my hopes set on some hard sci-fi. The hardest of sci-fi. Make that hardcore sci-fi. I should have known better from the trailers of course and I sort of did, but I’m starving for my hard sci-fi fix so I dared to dream. What I saw was sappy, schmaltzy, ridiculous, filled with the lamest of movie tropes and jumping over plotholes the size of well, black holes.
I’m not even getting into the whole “They’re drinking beers made from what exactly? And don’t say cornbeer!”, because that’s petty. And I’m not disputing the science, but come on: a former engineer turned farmer finds a NASA outpost, where they’re just then, that moment ready to launch a wormhole-traversing spaceship, if they only had someone that could just hop aboard and fly the damn thing. No training involved. There are many lists of plotholes on the interwebs if you enjoy feeding your rage. Here’s one.
Still all of that could be overlooked. Also the blatant stealing from other great (and not so great) movies could be overlooked if it hadn’t been such a fucking letdown. This’ll be controversial maybe, but I thought even Prometheus was a better film than this. The first half of the movie I swear I thought I was watching an M. Night Shyamalamalan abortion.
Because in the end it is all about 2 of the loneliest people in the universe betraying eachother, no hold on, even attempting to kill eachother for ridiculous reasons. None of it really makes sense. All rationality is abandoned by these elite scientists. There is no escape, everything is ruined until love saves the day, love and Dylan Thomas of course. Although by this point I just didn’t care anymore. It didn’t enthrall me, I was not emotionally engaged, I did not care for any of the characters at all. I won’t spoil the movie, but especially the end is such a badly written suckfest, I just can’t…
I really wanted to like this film. I really hoped that Nolan would put us all on the right track with regard to Science Fiction Cinema, but he didn’t deliver. Cheesy sentimentality and palatability for the masses won out I guess. It’s one of my most fervent dreams to one day direct an epic sci-fi movie. If I could find the resources and secure the rights to say a Greg Egan novel, I would clamor for the chance to prove that it doesn’t need to be like this.
I’d make it look like this:
Wanderers – a short film by Erik Wernquist from Erik Wernquist on Vimeo.
One can dream…