Upon Interstellar’s release a frenzy began to be whipped up amongst the ScreenQueen’s writers. Varying opinions were being spouted left right and centre and some serious space lovin’ and trivia reciting was going down. Due to the high volume of opinions on Christopher Nolan’s latest feature we decided to treat you all to a group review.

CAROLINE: (may contain spoilers)

It’s been awhile since a film has so profoundly moved me, and left me thinking about it for days after seeing it. If I had the money, I’d go see it again. Not only was it an incredible film, but also a one-of-a kind experience to see it in IMAX. You could feel the sounds in your bones. And the visuals, much like that of Gravity, plunge you into the black beauty of outer space.  Interstellar is 2001: Space Odyssey inspired with a Speilbergian heart (he was originally attached to direct) My glowing feelings for the film aside, let’s get some of the negative out of the way. First off, many have been complaining about the scientific plot holes in the film. And while, yes, you can perhaps easily point out the bad science. But honestly, you just need to let all that go, stop scrutinizing, and allow yourself to be along for the ride. And what a wonderful ride Interstellar is. The only time the movie stops dead in it’s tracks is during Matt Damon’s (surprise cameo) sequence.

The character of Murph (Cooper’s daughter) is played by the wonderful Jessica Chastain as an adult and as a child by the talented newcomer Mackenzie Foy. In an emotional scene, young Murph begs her father not to go. We know Murph is angry with her father for leaving, but she is so underwritten that we never know why she so adamantly holds onto this grudge for all those years. A parent leaving is emotionally scarring, but Murph also devotes herself to helping out the very professor that sent her father on the mission. We could have used at least one scene, perhaps of her talking to the Topher Grace bit character, about her POV on things. Also, though Murph is the driving force behind Cooper’s entire race against time to get home, their eventual reunion, while it brings tears to your eyes, it also is extremely underwhelming and incredibly rushed. If the film basically hinged on this, why speed it through?

Christopher Nolan has truly outdone himself with his directing. Hans Zimmer has also outdone himself with the score. The music was haunting and moving. The docking scene especially shows the harmonious paring of Nolan’s stellar film work to Zimmer’s musicianship.

Interstellar is an ambitious story, and while the theme of “love transcends time and space” is a bit shoehorned into the script, it still rings true. Matthew McConaughey delivers one of the finest pieces of acting on film. (I’m now a firm believer in the McConaissance) On one of the planets, one hour is equal to seven years on Earth. When they return, they find that twenty-three years has passed. Cooper sits and watches the videos of his son growing from a boy to a man, to having a son of his own, all in the span of a few minutes. There’s no dialogue, just his heartbreaking and sobbing reaction. It’s hard to find someone who wouldn’t be moved by that. Interstellar will leave you on the edge of your seat, and it will not leave your mind long after you leave the theatre.  Interstellar is a modern marvel, an ambitious and epic work with a lot of heart.

LAURA: Interstellar is two hours forty nine minutes of hugely complex but equally beautiful sci-fi. I had high expectations due to how many people were getting excited about this film, and the fact it was made by Christopher Nolan screams massively successful blockbuster. Despite my high expectations though, I definitely wasn’t disappointed.

The general plot of the film seems simple enough- humanity is facing extinction so a group of explorers must travel through a wormhole and go in search of new possibilities for the human race. But without giving too much away, this is a Christopher Nolan film, so there are things that seem pretty insignificant at the start of the film which come together at the end to result in a mind-blowing effect. Despite all the mind-blowing, there were parts during the middle where the extensive amount of dialogue where nothing really happened got kind of boring, which made me feel like the rest of the film was going to be a disappointment; however the last half an hour or so really pulls everything back and the end result is fantastic. Definitely a film worth seeing at least once- Nolan’s insanely good writing and directing never fails to amaze me, however the only slight let-down I felt was the briefly dull parts in the middle.

CHLOE: Personally, I think there have been far too many negative reviews of Christopher Nolan’s latest feature. Many critics talk of flat characters, a lack of action (seriously?!), that is too loud and that the depth of the content may be too much for viewers to grasp. I’m assuming these critics: 1. Hate fun and 2. Do not like to be thought of as intelligent beings. Nolan’s ability to utilise every last aspect of the cinematic experience and putting it right up in your face whilst also assuming that his audience are pretty fuckin’ clever is one of my favourite aspects of his work. Having seen all but two of his features you start to know what to expect. You do not go into a Nolan movie expecting a popcorn flick for a Sunday afternoon. You expect something that’s going to require a few paracetamol afterwards and the car radio turned off to make way for in-depth discussions.

I think this is where Interstellar has proved to be a cheeky lil gem, being thrust into the world just as sci-fi and space travel appear to be making a big comeback. Interstellar’s trailer didn’t really give us a tonne of information and I think a lot of people have gone into the film expecting Gravity’s older sister and what they’ve really gotten is emotional drama, extravagant special effects, thrilling action, heart-stopping twists and philosophical questions and theories that honestly made me consider quitting uni and giving up because the meaning of life is truly beyond me.

It’s daring and captivating and I don’t think I’ve had a cinema experience where my body has reacted so fully (I felt like I was vibrating and my head expanding and contracting all the way through it was WEIRD) in a very long time, if ever. It is undoubtedly a completely immersive experience going way beyond our solar system, and Hans Zimmer’s score is phenomenal. Nolan creates entirely new worlds and stunning imagery, so what if a few elements fall through the cracks? A film so un-defined by the usual conventions of ‘the blockbuster’ deserves a few slip ups simply for just being. I enjoyed being challenged and trying to piece together the scientific lingo with what my eyes were taking in. I loved that for once in a long time a director has not bothered to spoon-feed me watered down content and place me on a drip of ‘patronising’, the cast is world-class and I almost feel sorry for the act that has to follow it.

JOEY:  I love this dystopian, post-capitalist America; denying space landings as propaganda meant to bate the USSR and living solely off corn. It’s not even gritty, just shamefully dusty and everyone is weathered and calloused from working the land. The world is recovering from an embarrassingly hard fall from consumerism and we are presented with a completely possible future. I think it’s really important for a sci-fi movie to attempt to be reasonably truthful; we all know how terrible we are to the planet and we need to be reminded and shamed for it constantly. Another important point is THE CORN. Christopher Nolan really goes to town with the countless beautiful corn shots and we all know everyone looks hot stood in a cornfield.

Space just looks so cool!!!! It manages to be understated, but still crazy without loads of explosions or aliens or anything (kind of disappointed in the absence of aliens). Basically, totally believable which could be because I’m uneducated and gullible, but I reckon that’s what space is like. I know nothing beyond GCSE level physics, but I’ve been informed that all the space stuff is scientifically correct and that Nolan based everything on real theories WHICH IS MAD this is real life!

Matthew McConaughey acts like someone who’s won an Oscar; he’s really, really good and he definitely knows that he’s really good. His Southern drawl is bizarre coming out of the deep, dark parts of outer-space. I also came out of the cinema with a new-found love for Anne Hathaway, I don’t know why I didn’t appreciate her more before. However, I have one rub (SPOILER) her whole love story was pretty much unnecessary and I totally feel as if it was only forced upon her because her character was a girl but whatever it made for a nice ending.

Space movies are great because they send me into a complete crisis, but simultaneously assure me that coursework is ultimately meaningless and I can just go happily home and just think about dimensions and space ships because we are all just little ants.