With a resume including Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, director Christopher Nolan, most often in conjunction with his screenwriter brother Jonathan, has become one of the defining voices of modern cinema, a creator of blockbusters films which defy expectation with craftsmanship and intellect beyond the standard studio tentpole. Originally developed by producer Lynda Obst who previously worked on Contact and is now a part of the Helix team with physicist Kip Thorne, it was first developed by Steven Spielberg before passing to Nolan’s Syncopy Inc.
Les Anderson – I saw this at the cinema in front of Godzilla. I have to agree that it didn’t stir my interest terribly much. Before the title cards came up I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill M Night Shangalang disaster movie.
I will, of course, go and see it but it just didn’t grab me.
Dario Persechino – My first thought is “Meh.” The implications of what has happened to the world hint at interesting ideas but that seems smudged behind the lens of ‘one man’s quest to feel bad about leaving his family because he’s apparently the one engineer left in the world.’
I think that is a poor perspective to set a potentially amazing story through.
Michael Flett – I liked the teaser with all the stock footage, which had a great sense of ambition, the possibility of achievement, but this full trailer left me empty. Before there was such optimism, but now I feel despondency rather than urgency. I know being a Nolan film it will most likely be excellent and this is only the tip of the iceberg, but if I didn’t know something about it already this wouldn’t sell it.
It’s always lovely to see Michael Caine given more to do than be British, and it’s great that Christopher Nolan has become such a champion of him as an actor in his later years, and I’ve always thought Matthew McConaughey was a great actor even though it took many people a long time to see past his dazzling looks and body. It will be nice to see him back in science fiction as it’s been a long time since he was Palmer Joss in Contact, and he was a wonderful warm presence there. And yes he was in Reign of Fire, which had… entertaining aspects.
I’m presuming the spinning event horizon is a wormhole? That ship looks awfully flimsy to withstand a wormhole… At least with physicist Kip Thorne a major consultant on the film it should tread more on the side of science than fiction, which will make it an interesting proposition, as for most practical terms interstellar travel is impossible, at least in a normal lifespan.
The line in the trailer “We must reach far beyond our lifespans” is telling. Even if those are hypersleep pods rather than acceleration couches, his promise to his kids that he’s coming home is fairly redundant as its going to be their descendants when he gets back home, assuming the planet isn’t a barren shell by that point.
I’m reminded of the 1998 Lost in Space film – “Every child on the planet knows the recycling technologies came along just in time to save us.” “Every child on the planet has been lied to.” It will also be interesting to see how America reacts to a film which this trailer indicates is saying “the way we’re treating our planet will kill it within a generation, and our technology isn’t enough to reverse it.”
The voiceover saying “We must think no as individuals but as a species” makes me think this is going to try to open eyes to the very long game, which is the antithesis of the corporate and political mentality, always focused on the results of the next quarter or the next election, but our planet operates on geological time, so that’s where we need to think, too.
Wes May – As you correctly noted there’s not a lot there. Sweeping music meant to evoke an emotional response, but this is just an extra-length teaser. This is what Nolan does best: holding back the meat of the story to draw us in. McConaughey looks to continue his amazing run by starring in what will likely be one of the winter’s biggest hits.
I’m excited to see how deep Nolan’s rabbit hole will go as far as looking at the possibilities of interstellar travel. This film is obviously going to be a survival film, but more than anything it looks to be a film about searching. Can’t wait to see more… though, not much more. As is the case with most Nolan films, the less you know going in, the better.
Adam Dworak – I have no idea what to think about this movie. So far it looks bland and I have no interest in seeing it based on this.
Matthew Rutland – I gotta be honest, I watched the trailer and I felt nothing. I was actually bored. The shots and scenes chosen were best left in the film, once you’ve had time to learn the background and grown to relate to and thus care for the characters; this felt like a by the numbers M Night Shyamalan film.
Sorry but it will have to be very good to turn around such a bad first impression.
Kevin Gilmartin – My response on Facebook stands: “Meh.”
Markus Hunt – Geek Chocolate’s was the second sharing of the Interstellar trailer that I spotted on Facebook but the first one I actually watched. The reason for this is that after seeing it mentioned I chatted to friends about it and they mentioned a science fiction film which had elements of Firefly, E.T. and Of Mice And Men. I couldn’t ignore a movie-equivalent combination that sounded like vindaloo ice cream with bacon sprinkles so watched the trailer.
What I got was a hint of a stunning three course meal. A near future where life was no longer sustainable on our precious yet abused world. A government who had either blamed or abandoned scientific solutions and had seemingly given up. A group of visionaries who believes that hope lies for us in the stars and a trailer that deliciously gives us only the above instead of regurgitating 95% of the plot.
I think Nolan taking over from Steven Spielberg on this creation will give us a joint vision that has the magical adventure of E.T., the forced nomadic drama from Of Mice And Men and the gritty non-utopian exploration of the stars that Firefly treated us to.
All this combined with a very welcome return to the non spoilerific trailer means I am looking forward to this more than the summer blockbusters.
Interstellar is scheduled for release on 7th November
Interstellar trailer – reaction
I will, of course, go and see it but it just didn’t grab me.
Dario Persechino – My first thought is “Meh.” The implications of what has happened to the world hint at interesting ideas but that seems smudged behind the lens of ‘one man’s quest to feel bad about leaving his family because he’s apparently the one engineer left in the world.’
I think that is a poor perspective to set a potentially amazing story through.
It’s always lovely to see Michael Caine given more to do than be British, and it’s great that Christopher Nolan has become such a champion of him as an actor in his later years, and I’ve always thought Matthew McConaughey was a great actor even though it took many people a long time to see past his dazzling looks and body. It will be nice to see him back in science fiction as it’s been a long time since he was Palmer Joss in Contact, and he was a wonderful warm presence there. And yes he was in Reign of Fire, which had… entertaining aspects.
The line in the trailer “We must reach far beyond our lifespans” is telling. Even if those are hypersleep pods rather than acceleration couches, his promise to his kids that he’s coming home is fairly redundant as its going to be their descendants when he gets back home, assuming the planet isn’t a barren shell by that point.
I’m reminded of the 1998 Lost in Space film – “Every child on the planet knows the recycling technologies came along just in time to save us.” “Every child on the planet has been lied to.” It will also be interesting to see how America reacts to a film which this trailer indicates is saying “the way we’re treating our planet will kill it within a generation, and our technology isn’t enough to reverse it.”
Wes May – As you correctly noted there’s not a lot there. Sweeping music meant to evoke an emotional response, but this is just an extra-length teaser. This is what Nolan does best: holding back the meat of the story to draw us in. McConaughey looks to continue his amazing run by starring in what will likely be one of the winter’s biggest hits.
I’m excited to see how deep Nolan’s rabbit hole will go as far as looking at the possibilities of interstellar travel. This film is obviously going to be a survival film, but more than anything it looks to be a film about searching. Can’t wait to see more… though, not much more. As is the case with most Nolan films, the less you know going in, the better.
Matthew Rutland – I gotta be honest, I watched the trailer and I felt nothing. I was actually bored. The shots and scenes chosen were best left in the film, once you’ve had time to learn the background and grown to relate to and thus care for the characters; this felt like a by the numbers M Night Shyamalan film.
Sorry but it will have to be very good to turn around such a bad first impression.
Kevin Gilmartin – My response on Facebook stands: “Meh.”
What I got was a hint of a stunning three course meal. A near future where life was no longer sustainable on our precious yet abused world. A government who had either blamed or abandoned scientific solutions and had seemingly given up. A group of visionaries who believes that hope lies for us in the stars and a trailer that deliciously gives us only the above instead of regurgitating 95% of the plot.
I think Nolan taking over from Steven Spielberg on this creation will give us a joint vision that has the magical adventure of E.T., the forced nomadic drama from Of Mice And Men and the gritty non-utopian exploration of the stars that Firefly treated us to.
All this combined with a very welcome return to the non spoilerific trailer means I am looking forward to this more than the summer blockbusters.
Interstellar is scheduled for release on 7th November
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