Interstellar (2014) * * *

Directed by:  Christopher Nolan

Starring:  Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, John Litghow, Wes Bentley

A good portion of Interstellar is gripping and emotionally powerful.    Then, it hits a wall from which it never quite recovers.    The film could easily be trimmed by about 20 minutes and still maintain its original vision.    Christopher Nolan attempts to stuff a lot of ideas into this space epic, which overall is an ambitious, thought-provoking project for about 3/4 of its running time.     We see Einstein's Theory of Relativity put into practical use, which turns out to be a very sad ordeal, although if my belief is correct there has to be something traveling at the speed of light in order for the theory to work.   

Interstellar opens on Earth at an unnamed time in the future.    The planet is beginning to die.    All other crops except corn can no longer be grown.     There are frequent massive dust storms and fires.    The population has dwindled so much so that the New York Yankees now play on a Little League field somewhere in the middle of the nation's heartland.    There are also no more armies, mostly because money is directed to saving whatever life is left on Earth.    

I will tread lightly while describing the plot so I don't give away too many plot points.    Part of the wonder of Interstellar is its scope.    The early scenes create a sad tone.    We see a planet dying and the likelihood that people will die with it.    As George Carlin once said, "The planet isn't going anywhere.   We are."    A former astronaut named Cooper (McConaughey), along with his near-genius daughter, stumble across a site used by NASA and run by Dr. Brand (Caine).   NASA's mission?    To send astronauts across the galaxy to find another planet which Earthlings can inhabit so they can move there and save the human race.   The catch?    Since it takes years to get to the edge of the galaxy, the astronauts will likely never see their loved ones again.     Can the ones chosen for the mission place the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the few?    Most can not. 

It is this central question that pulls along Interstellar and creates genuine, touching moments.     Nolan, with limitless technical expertise and resources at his disposal, is deftly able to envision a future growing bleaker by the moment even as the sun still shines.     Then, Instellar digresses into almost a homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey.    Plot developments come up that aren't really necessary or even relevant.      Things are concluded not with a wallop, but with a more muted, stunted ending unworthy of all the emotional investment that came before.

Interstellar is visually stunning as it takes us into the deepest recesses of space to uninhabitable planets.    What we mostly feel is the sense of time lost as the astronauts discover new worlds.    It takes so long to get there and back (even through a black hole) that many years pass on Earth.    Loved ones grow older and die.    This is likely why we send robots and machines into space instead of humans.     Machines don't have family attachments and people they miss.    The feelings of loss would be just too intense for humans to sacrifice for the greater good.     Interstellar works best when it focuses on that.     When it turns a little too sci-fi, it loses its way.     That is a strange thing to say about a sci-fi drama.