Disc Reviews

Interstellar Blu-ray Review

29th Mar 2015

Christopher Nolan’s latest sci-fi epic concerns a future where man’s biggest plight is growing crop in a dust ridden landscape. Effectively there are only a couple of generations worth of survival for the human race, and they must look to space for a new home.

A small team is sent (as a second-part of an already launched mission) to seek a suitable world that may or may not exist on the other side of a wormhole located near Saturn.

Once through this space the scientific team must contend with a black hole which has serious effects on the passing of time for the team compared to that time spent back home by their families.

And this is the dramatic focus of the story for Copper (Matthew McConaughey) who has left behind children (his daughter, Murphy, takes particular exception to him leaving, causing some very sore spots for them both to face as time passes them by).

The science of the set up is a lot to take in on a first viewing. It all makes fair enough sense. The concepts and ideas are fresh enough and haven’t been done to death in cinema at this stage. The effect of the science on the drama works very well, but sometimes you do find yourself in a room with talking heads blabbering and looking to justify feelings against science which doesn’t always work as strongly as you’d hope.

Come the end, it all ties up nicely in another impressive visual delight from Nolan. The effects work (which recently won an Academy Award) is largely impressive – but doesn’t redefine the look of science fiction cinema. Sure they take a more practical approach to how wormholes look (Here they are spherical, as opposed to being an actual tunnel). Sure there are 2001 moments – but the film doesn’t seek to outdo any other masterpiece. What is impressive isn’t just the space and light, but also the planet surfaces they visit which are a combination of real locations augmented with visual effects work.

The Blu-ray looks and sounds stunning and there are a host of supplemental materials including a 50 minute documentary on the science of the movie as well as a dozen or so featurettes on various aspects of the films production. Taking a closer look not just at the science, but also the landscape they have soight out for the future, the robotics, the costumes, the craft used and of course a nice spotlight on the music are all very welcome additions. Nolan though still hasn’t come back to the commentary booth though – not since Insomnia.

Interstellar may not be Nolan’s strongest film, but it is still a strong film.