Interstellar 2014

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: Whereas most science fiction withers out in space, "Interstellar" rockets home. Read more

Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com: It's a film I didn't exactly enjoy and can't say I would recommend. And yet as an event, as a singular movie-watching opportunity, it's undoubtedly worthwhile. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The Nolans plant some actual characters onto that landscape, but it's too arid for anything interesting to grow. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: A soulful, must-see masterpiece, one of the most exhilarating film experiences so far this century. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Christopher Nolan's 168-minute odyssey through the space-time continuum is stuffed with stuff of bewildering wrongness. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "Interstellar" may not be Nolan at his best, but it's still Nolan, and there's much to be said for that. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Double-domed and defiantly serious, Interstellar is a must-take ride with a few narrative bumps. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: Reaffirms Nolan as the premier big-canvas storyteller of his generation, more than earning its place alongside "The Wizard of Oz," "2001," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Gravity" in the canon of Hollywood's visionary sci-fi head trips. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Comes closer to mimicking the feel and structure of 20th-century hard sci-fi in the Arthur C. Clarke mode that just about any other movie. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Christopher Nolan's film, about a trip to deep space to find a habitable place for humans to live, doesn't always live up to its ambition, but then again, its ambition is huge. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The parts of Interstellar that don't work -- a third act (out of four) that descends into suspense-movie silliness, an increasing reliance on mystical mumbo-jumbo -- struggle against the many parts that do. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: After the first hour, with its poignant depiction of humanity's decline, Interstellar always seems to be rebuilding its momentum, offering plenty to think about but little to hold on to. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: A knockout one minute, a punch-drunk crazy film the next, Interstellar is a highly stimulating mess. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Nolan tries to pair the cosmic esoterica with this father-daughter tussle, but the mix doesn't jell. Visionary movies require a bigger vision. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: The climax contains some tangled magic. If you're not exhausted by almost three hours of intergalactic lecturing, you may even be able to feel it. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Interstellar is as cinematically epic as it is dramatically intimate. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: "Interstellar" is a grand undertaking, but in shooting for the stars, it loses its footing. It goes to infinity and beyond, when infinity would have been plenty. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Whereas 2001 is enigmatic and ethereal...Interstellar is far more prosaic and pedestrian...Still, it has moments of bombastic brilliance, an often moving performance from Matthew McConaughey, and, boy, at its best, is it something to look at. Read more

Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly: As the rare director whose singular vision is buoyed by infinite artistic freedom, Christopher Nolan would be derelict if he didn't take gargantuan risks. It's good for us that he does. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Never less than engrossing, and sometimes more than that. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It's a mass audience picture that's intelligent as well as epic, with a sophisticated script that's as interested in emotional moments as immersive visuals. Which is saying a lot. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: This isn't Nolan's best movie, but his ambitions and trust in the audience keep getting bigger. He's one of Hollywood's few true remaining visionaries, and he's only getting warmed up. Read more

David Thomson, The New Republic: Interstellar is an entertainment disaster for reasons that have dogged our films since they began: ridiculous story; implausible segues; laughable dialogue; the absence of character, drama, and command. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: "Interstellar" deserves credit for aiming for the stars, but the hard realities of filmmaking and storytelling pull it right back to Earth. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: "Interstellar," a spectacular, redundant puzzle, a hundred and sixty-seven minutes long, makes you feel virtuous for having sat through it rather than happy that you saw it. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's not only full of great visuals and big ideas (albeit ones that are sometimes a little confusingly expressed) but that it's a movie about human perseverance. Read more

Chris Klimek, NPR: Nolan, a director often accused of coldness, finally got all mushy when he went to outer space. I can't solve that equation, but I've enjoyed trying to scratch it out. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Even as "Interstellar" becomes a beautiful mess, its wannabe-deep impact will hit everyone differently. We need far-reaching artists like Nolan, since, as they say, Earth without art is "eh." Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "Interstellar," full of visual dazzle, thematic ambition, geek bait and corn (including the literal kind), is a sweeping, futuristic adventure driven by grief, dread and regret. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Interstellar is an experience. Nolan's vision of our galaxy, and galaxies beyond, is daunting, majestic; the hardware of space travel looks right, almost familiar. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It's an amazing achievement that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen with the best sound system possible. Nolan has crafted Interstellar as a movie theater experience. Watching it at home, no matter how good the sound system is, won't match. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Jessica Chastain deserves Best Supporting Actress consideration for her work. One of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: What the neg-heads are missing about Interstellar is how enthralling it is, how gracefully it blends the cosmic and the intimate, how deftly Nolan explores the infinite in the smallest human details. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Interstellar is thrilling to watch across its moments but ultimately unmemorable; I feel it slipping away from me even now. Read more

Michael Ordona, San Francisco Chronicle: Despite its many virtues, Interstellar feels as if it doesn't quite hit the target. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: A movie I snickered at more than once but never stopped staring at in wonder. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: If your interest in prolonged discussions of the space-time continuum fades, composer Hans Zimmer will boost the already booming organ soundtrack up to 12. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: This is epic cinema that begs to be compared to "2001: A Space Odyssey." But unlike Stanley Kubrick's psychedelic joyride, this journey is powered by a human heart. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: Interstellar may be a preposterous epic, but it is an epic nonetheless. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: By the closing credits, it seems possible that Nolan himself hails from another planet, and while he has tried diligently to show humanity in a flattering light, he lacks enough inside information to get it right. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Even a cool cat like Christopher Nolan can cough up a furball - and with his sci-fi adventure Interstellar, it's blockbuster-sized. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: May represent an apotheosis of sorts, as it illustrates the very best and the very worst of Nolan as a writer-director. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: A bold, beautiful cosmic adventure story with a touch of the surreal and the dreamlike. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The story is ever-ambitious, sometimes riveting and thought-provoking, but also plodding and hokey and not as visionary as its cutting-edge special effects. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Whatever his strengths may be, Nolan lacks the human touch. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The mix of wonky physics, mysticism, and genetically modified corn is so clunky it's ... fabulous. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: For a movie about transcending all manner of dimensions, "Interstellar" ultimately falls surprisingly flat. Read more