I absolutely loved both Memento and Inception so I had high hopes for this movie from director Christopher Nolan as he is one of the few directors in this day and age of Superhero blockbusters, cash grab movie sequels and straight to TV series, that brings something unique to most of his movies and tries to make films the spectacle that they should be.

It’s difficult to give too much detail about this film without potentially ruining the movie so the short version is that Joseph Cooper (superbly played by Matthew McConaughey) is a, widowed, ex NASA astronaut who now is a crop farmer but thanks to an aggressive blight mankind is on the brink of extension as earth slowly decays into an inhospitable planet. Cooper and his daughter discover a binary message which leads them to a secret NASA facility. They soon learn that NASA have sent twelve missions through a wormhole they discovered however these were one way missions and with one last throw of the dice NASA are planning a launch with the intent of having two options. Either to work out how to harness gravity into a propulsion system which will make space travel a realistic option for the remainder of the survivors on earth or else locate one of the missions that report potential favourable conditions and use the 5,000 embryos the ship will carry to start humankind again so Cooper signs up for the sake of saving his family. While this may not sound like anything other than a standard space movie it’s done so well that the emotional drama is intense and the themes of love and loss are as much to the fore and have as much of an impact on the characters and their decision making as the main storyline so despite the flashbacks and inevitable twists and turns which occur it never takes you out of the moment and you can’t help keep on rooting for Cooper and his crew through each step.

Some of the camera work and use of miniatures to portray space is bordering on Stanley Kubrik’s 2001 level and Hans Zimmers superb score add all the right emotions on key but the real brilliance in the movie is the script particularly the use of relativity, dimensions and the space/time continuum where minutes on a planet can mean hours back on their ship which in turn could mean months in earth time so each step and each action has impact which keeps the tension high at all times even through the mundane and tedious day to day tasks the astronauts need to carry out as each wasted moment, minor issue or even discussion brings earth closer to doom.

Even though the movie is almost three hours long it doesn’t feel it and Nolan has created a masterpiece which will stay with you long after you have finished watching the movie. This is a classic which will still be spoken about in years to come and is a must for any movie lover and it’s one I’m going to watch again to really appreciate what is one of the best movies I have seen in the last number of years.

DJ Speaks Rating: 8 out of 10