# Interstellar



## UltraParanoia (Nov 6, 2014)

So, I saw Interstellar last night, opening night. Australia had it a day early, November 6th.

I don't think I have ever seen a movie like it before, it really was amazing.
The synopsis & trailers give almost nothing away. In Nolan tradition most of the 2nd act & definitely all of the 3rd were a complete surprise. But keeping in that tradition it is all perfectly concluded at the end.

The science behind it is so cool, but not to difficult to follow if you stay focused. 
Acting is of course great, when you have the likes of Matthew Mcconaughey, John Lithgow, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain etc etc 
The special effects were really spectacular, we know that Chris Nolan doesnt love CGI but god damn when he uses it, it is really on another level. 

I don't know if I could explain it all to someone if I had too 

I highly recommend it, but having enjoyed Inception is probably a good start.


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## Aviator (Nov 6, 2014)

The Prestige my friend. If people love The Prestige, they should watch this. I liked Interstellar a lot but for me it was "explained" more than it was needed. Otherwise 5/5 Go, and watch it in a cinema!


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## UltraParanoia (Nov 6, 2014)

Seeing it in the cinema is a must!


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## The Mirror (Nov 7, 2014)

This is the first movie where I went out of the cinema and found myself wanting to make a 20 to 30 year jump into the future to see what will once become the legacy of the movie.

After seeing it one time I am about to say it is the 2001 of our generation and the one movie everyone even remotely interested in scifi HAS TO see.


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## HattersGonnaHat (Nov 7, 2014)

I'm not sure if it's just me, but in the 3rd act I noticed similarities to Isaac Asimov's short story The Last Question. I wonder if it's an homage, or if I'm full of shit.


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## Aviator (Nov 7, 2014)

I've read that Nolan worked with a physicist who was writing books about time travel. So maybe he was inspired with Asimov. Anyway, I thought this ending couldn't be more explained but judging by the YT comment section, people are really dumb.


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## Rev2010 (Nov 7, 2014)

It was Kip Thorne. I actually was reading Kip Thorne's Blackholes and Timewarps years ago:

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Holes-T...TF8&qid=1415381720&sr=8-2&keywords=kip+thorne

phenomenal book!! Haven't even gotten half way though. When I saw Nolan used Kip as his science consultant I was stunned and super excited. Haven't seen this movie yet but I think it might be my first time back in the theater since The Dark Knight!


Rev.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Nov 7, 2014)

Thanks for the heads up. ME and my wife love a good movie at the theatre, will have to go see this.

Was going to see Nightcrawler this weekend, maybe we'll change it up.


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## Xaios (Nov 7, 2014)

I watch Youtube videos by a guy named Scott Manley, as he frequently posts videos about a game called Kerbal Space Program (I think he's also an Aerospace Engineer by trade). He got to attend an early screening of the film. His opinion was, while the movie had a great story, some of the physics surrounding the space flight (ignoring things which occur that we simply *can't* know how they'd be affected) are pretty wonky sometimes. Still though, he said it was very 2001-esque and quite enjoyed it, despite its flaws.


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## wat (Nov 10, 2014)

I was pretty disappointed with it, especially the end which was just dumb, imo.


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## Sebastian (Nov 11, 2014)

Fantastic movie! I didn't enjoy a movie like that in a very long time (ever?).
Great story, effects and the music was extremely well written


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## crg123 (Nov 17, 2014)

First movie I've seen in iMax (even though I'm 25 haha.. I'm a cheap bastard) and well worth the extra price bump. Really well done.

The robot jokes were killing me haha, so funny.


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## mcleanab (Nov 17, 2014)

I saw it last week and LOVED the visuals... stunning to say the least.

Didn't care for the story too much.

Asimov's THE LAST QUESTION is one of my favorite stories of his... although, I really dug FOUNDATION'S EDGE and the last few moments of FOUNDATION AND EARTH.


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## Skyblue (Nov 19, 2014)

I liked it a lot, up until a certain multi-dimensional moment. It didn't ruin the movie, but it just felt... forced, in a way. I really think it could have been done better, but than again, I'm no director~ 

Still, I enjoyed it immensely. This world needs more astrophysics-based movies.


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## Xaios (Nov 19, 2014)

crg123 said:


> The robot jokes were killing me haha, so funny.



Seriously, need more of these robots, they were just great. 

I saw the movie on the 11th. I really enjoyed it, but I have a difficult time articulating _why_, which is quite strange for me.

In retrospect, some of the space flight physics were wonky, like...



Spoiler



When the ship starts losing altitude after the explosion when Space Matt Damon tries to hijack it, and when the ship undocks the two modules after burning away from the black hole, expecting it to make a difference in their velocity (note: if there was still another engine burning on the main portion of the ship, I guess this would make sense).



However, I was entertained enough during these sequences that it didn't detract from the experience at the time.


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## michblanch (Nov 20, 2014)

Thanks for the review. I have been debating seeing it. 

I just keep picturing Matt McC saying "I was driving spaceships since before they paid me to drive spaceships"


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## Ibzzus (Nov 20, 2014)

One of the best movies I have seen in a loooooong time. Hans Zimmer's score was phenomenal. 

Grooveshark - Free Music Streaming, Online Music

The moment this song kicks in is the moment the movie gets f***ing intense. I was speechless by the end of the movie. Beautiful, emotional, thought provoking, and just plain breath-taking.


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## michblanch (Nov 22, 2014)

Ok you guys got me to go based on your opinions. 
I went last night and it was pretty impressive. 


But: 
I kept picturing Matt Damon waking up and Saying "I'm Matt Damon"

And it was kind of a letdown that Matt Mc didn't look in the camera and say
"I was driving spaceships long before they paid me to drive spaceships". 

Also, I went to the Alamo Drafthouse. During or before the movie you write your order on a piece of paper and they bring you whatever you wanna eat or whatever type of booze you want. 

During the movie the waiter came and picked up my paper and read it while crouching down. 
He busted out laughing and ran out of the theater while people started turning around. 

I wrote : The guy beside me keeps farting and I think he gave me pinkeye".


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## Pweaks (Nov 23, 2014)

I went to see it last night and I was impressed. Top notch acting, great soundtrack and I thought the story was great. 

But yeah, this is a movie that you certainly need to see in a cinema.


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## setsuna7 (Nov 23, 2014)

Amazing.. 'nuff said. Another Nolan's masterpiece


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## vilk (Nov 24, 2014)

I was worried while I was watching the movie that they weren't going to be able to tie up all the stuff I wanted to know about-- and they did! 

Also, the bleak future of earth with all the dust was kinda cool and scary/plausible


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## 693 (Nov 25, 2014)

I liked it, it was a really good movie, nothing more. Nolan has done some great films, but I personally don't think this is one of them. It was really good yes, but not a classic. Inception was way better, if you ask me. It's one of the better movies I have seen lately, I saw Coherence just beforehand, and for a low-budget movie it was as good if not better.


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## Winspear (Nov 25, 2014)

Loved it! One question:



Spoiler



Upon escaping the water planet, Hathaways character says that they must have only been minutes late to rescue the astronaut who had been there (presumably because she must have been in the previous wave cycle for the equipment to end up there or something?). I don't understand this - that astronaut had been sending signals saying the planet was suitable for a while, no? They could have been hoaxes to get rescued, like later in the film, but that doesn't seem to be addressed. Of course there is time warping involved but I'm still confused about this.


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## Ibzzus (Nov 25, 2014)

Spoiler



^ 1 hour on the water planet means 7 years on earth. The original 3 astronauts went through the worm hole 13 years ago if I remember correctly. That means she was on that planet for about 2 hours before a wave killed her and destroyed her ship. It may have been 13 years for Cooper and co. but since the gravity from the black hole has been warping the time, it was only 2 hours for her.

So imagine this, she goes to the planet, sees water. Water = life. She sets up her beacon and sends a signal. She turns around. HOLY SHIT THAT IS A MASSIVE WAVE. Dies on the spot. Moments later Cooper and Co. arrive. And if you haven't guessed it yet, those massive waves were caused by the huge gravitational pull of the black hole. Just like our puny waves are caused by the gravity of the moon.


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## Rev2010 (Nov 28, 2014)

Saw it tonight, honestly I didn't like it much. I didn't hate it or anything, but so much about it was pointless. The story for one was incohesive, many scenes really did not need to be there and stood as a waste of time IMO, other scenes seemed to be intentionally far longer than they needed to be, and the science/space scenes weren't really all that great.

I did appreciate several aspects such as no sound at all in outside space shots, the spherical wormhole, etc. Don't get me wrong... keep in mind I've read most of Kip Thorne's Black Holes and Time Warps and LOVE his book, and Contact is my favorite movie of all time and many disliked it, but I feel it's a way better movie all around. 


Rev.


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## chopeth (Nov 29, 2014)

I watched it yesterday, I liked it a lot. Anyway, I watched Inception last week and I think I liked it better. Man, Nolan is a real genious, makes you dream and introspect with every movie he makes, makes you feel weird things (in a beautiful way) in your soul, I love how he mixes the science and the spiritual. He deserves to be among the best 10 directors ever imo.

Anyway, there's one thing I don't understand. Why people say watching it in the cinema is a must? There's not so much visual as in other films, f.e. I'd recommend watching Avatar in a cinema because of so much visual display. I think I'd have enjoyed it better comfortably in my sofa with a good beer.


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## pink freud (Nov 30, 2014)

Whoever decided to release the movie with that sound mix should be fired. Also, if you need a full on booster rocket to escape 1G but can escape 1.3G with just thrusters we need to have a talk...

Other than that (and other sciency fails), I enjoyed it.


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## AtifAzim.1 (Dec 4, 2014)

I enjoyed it so much that i'm desperate to see it a second time


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## Explorer (Dec 10, 2014)

Normally after-the-fact prequels are not so great, but I think that this is a pretty good lead-in to Wall-E....


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## Aviator (Dec 10, 2014)

pink freud said:


> Whoever decided to release the movie with that sound mix should be fired. Also, if you need a full on booster rocket to escape 1G but can escape 1.3G with just thrusters we need to have a talk...
> 
> Other than that (and other sciency fails), I enjoyed it.


It's still science fiction, so sometimes you need to "bend the rules" to tell the story. And may I ask, what are the other sciency fails?


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## Winspear (Dec 10, 2014)

I keep hearing complaints about the mix. I heard zero issue in my cinema, thought everything was great.


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## thatguyupthere (Dec 10, 2014)

Aviator said:


> It's still science fiction, so sometimes you need to "bend the rules" to tell the story. And may I ask, what are the other sciency fails?



The part where he enters the black hole (nope, you're dead) and there's a structure that fifth dimensional beings built for him. Which, who the f*** knows what a fifth dimensional being could build, it'd be way beyond our comprehension. (If one could reside in the fifth dimension anyways)


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## Winspear (Dec 10, 2014)

^ I think you missed the last 30 minutes of the movie


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## vansinn (Dec 10, 2014)

mcleanab said:


> Asimov's THE LAST QUESTION is one of my favorite stories of his... although, I really dug FOUNDATION'S EDGE and the last few moments of FOUNDATION AND EARTH.



Everyone should read Asimov's Foundation - and understand what's meant by the empire braking up; an observation based on Psycho History, the math developed by Hari Seldom, which is about predicting response patterns of large masses to known stimuli..

Sorry, haven't seen this new movie as yet; will do..


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## vilk (Dec 11, 2014)

thatguyupthere said:


> The part where he enters the black hole (nope, you're dead)


Now you're making a science fail right there because no one has any idea what happens when things even get close to the event horizon.


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## pink freud (Dec 11, 2014)

Aviator said:


> It's still science fiction, so sometimes you need to "bend the rules" to tell the story. And may I ask, what are the other sciency fails?



1: Relativity isn't a line, it's a gradient. You can't be at a near 1:1 ratio with earth and then be at 1:61360.7 just past some barrier.

2: Spaghettification. One of my favorite scientific terms and one ignored by this movie.


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## Blackheim (Dec 15, 2014)

I enjoyed the movie a lot. I know there are lots of scientific inaccuracies and Matt McC did not get spaguettified when he ejected himself on Gargantua. To be really honest, I did not look into the scientific side of things when enjoying a way of art... Artistically, it is one of the best movies I've ever watched.


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## vilk (Dec 18, 2014)

^Yall should watch Sunshine then. That's basically what I was comparing this movie to the entire time I watched it.


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## Xaios (Dec 18, 2014)

Sunshine was kind of a strange beast. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hell out of it, but the last act shifted gears pretty hard. It spent the two thirds of its running time trying to be as hard sci-fi as it could possibly be, and really succeeded in a lot of respects. But then the last shot right as the stellar bomb goes off turns into a really blatant "My God, it's full of stars!" moment for no reason whatsoever, aside from the fact that they felt it needed one of those cliched "life-affirming, the universe and everything is beautiful" sci-fi glamour shots to end on.



Spoiler



Not to mention that it turns into a slasher flick.


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## vilk (Dec 18, 2014)

^srsly fix that spoiler right now you're not supposed to know!


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## Xaios (Dec 18, 2014)

I spoiler'd the last bit. Not tagging the bit about the stellar bomb, because the whole premise of the movie is "it's a ship with a bomb meant to reignite the sun" so saying "the bomb explodes" isn't much of a spoiler.


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## wat (Dec 19, 2014)

From what I've read, Sunshine seems a lot like Frank Herbert's _Destination: Void_

Gonna try to watch Sunshine soon.


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## pink freud (Dec 19, 2014)

I watched Sunshine mostly for the soundtrack.


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## RedSkull (Mar 21, 2015)

Watched it again today (yes downloaded but will buy dont worry) 

I weeped a few times, I knew I would... honestly this is probably the only movie that will get to you one way or another at some points in the movie (and godamnit Zimmers you and your orgasmic soundtrack)

What send chills down my spine about this movie, is that if you take a step back and think for a second; this is exactly where our world is heading into. Who knows; there might be even an ever so slighty chance that we can get to the horizon of a black hole one day, and then our whole universe and time as we know it might be changed forever


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## Dutchbooked (Apr 18, 2015)

thatguyupthere said:


> The part where he enters the black hole (nope, you're dead) and there's a structure that fifth dimensional beings built for him. Which, who the f*** knows what a fifth dimensional being could build, it'd be way beyond our comprehension. (If one could reside in the fifth dimension anyways)



Isn't that like complaining the scenario in the porn you are watching could never really happen? To me that is missing the point.


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## wankerness (Apr 18, 2015)

RedSkull said:


> What send chills down my spine about this movie, is that if you take a step back and think for a second; this is exactly where our world is heading into. Who knows; there might be even an ever so slighty chance that we can get to the horizon of a black hole one day, and then our whole universe and time as we know it might be changed forever


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## groverj3 (Apr 25, 2015)

The number of people who can't handle the fiction in their science fiction blows my mind sometimes (this is coming from a scientist).

Thoroughly enjoyed it, bought it, will watch it.


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## ah_graylensman (Apr 30, 2015)

I liked Interstellar better when it was a Queen song called "'39".


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## Skyblue (Apr 30, 2015)

groverj3 said:


> The number of people who can't handle the fiction in their science fiction blows my mind sometimes (this is coming from a scientist).
> 
> Thoroughly enjoyed it, bought it, will watch it.



I think the main problem with it was that it tried really hard to make itself seem scientifically accurate and than suddenly


Spoiler



time paradoxes and 5 dimensional tesseracts and gravity magic and what not


 and it all felt like it was coming from nowhere. I liked it, but that part felt annoying a bit.


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## wankerness (May 10, 2015)

I finally watched this, and now I regret not seeing it in the theater. That trailer was seriously one of the worst ever made and NOTHING that was good about the movie is present in it. It made it look like a ponderous, boring movie about cornfields and a boring future where there are dust storms in those cornfields. If they hadn't been so hell-bent on hiding everything that happened in the last 2.2 hours of the movie then I might not have gotten such a wrong impression that it was a boring slog that was mainly about trying to figure out how to get off earth, instead of a movie where that is resolved in the first half hour and then the rest is space stuff. Ah well. That's what I get for avoiding reviews to avoid spoilers at the same time. 

It still was very impressive through a loud surround system, man alive were some of those scenes earthshaking. The part in the black hole especially.

I thought it was sort of like Nolan's equivalent to Cameron's "The Abyss," in that it was a movie where he tried to turn around from his rep as a master of iciness and action and make something that was primarily really treacly and emotional. I think it worked for the most part, though Anne Hathaway's speech about the power of love was REALLY awful. It was dumb on the level of the "great scientist" at the beginning of Prometheus saying she "chooses to believe." Though at least this movie was much better-written than that one. Jessica Chastain was great and really sold some of the scenes that probably wouldn't have worked with a lesser actress. The actress who played young Murph was also really damn good, and Mcconaughey was perfect for the role since he's so unafraid to be nakedly emotional and sincere.


Spoiler



Matt Damon was also a brilliant bit of casting since everyone trusts him implicitly since he's Matt Damon.


 It's a messy movie and I think the movie would have been better if they had just removed some of the characters entirely, much like The Dark Knight needed to lose at least one of the moral dilemmas set up by the joker. 

John Lithgow and the son were the biggest wastes of characters, and


Spoiler



the attempt to create suspense when he's returning to the house towards the end after Chastain burns his crops was very stupid. I get what function their characters serve in the greater themes (they're representative of the conservative mindset that is destroying the human race and holding back scientific progress), but I really don't think the movie would have missed them if they'd gone. Especially since the son is never referenced again after that scene!!!



I didn't get hung up on any of the science at any point cause it's science fiction and getting hung up on that crap reminds me of annoying snarky youtube videos and epic bacon yolo zombies ninjas george takei twitter epic lol science ftw lol.  I was totally with the movie right to the end, with the only question that came up for me


Spoiler



that I didn't understand how gravity was able to program a watch hand in an incredibly complex manner when previously all he'd been able to do was nudge books, which wasn't really a science thing at all!


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## groverj3 (May 17, 2015)

wankerness said:


> I think it worked for the most part, though Anne Hathaway's speech about the power of love was REALLY awful. It was dumb on the level of the "great scientist" at the beginning of Prometheus saying she "chooses to believe." Though at least this movie was much better-written than that one.



Yes, that was cringeworthy. However, IMHO the movie saved itself by basically saying, "Sorry Catwoman, that's a really dumb idea."


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## beneharris (May 17, 2015)

groverj3 said:


> Yes, that was cringeworthy. However, IMHO the movie saved itself by basically saying, "Sorry Catwoman, that's a really dumb idea."



See, I don't think that was what the movie was going for. I think that the movie's point was exactly what she was saying. 



Spoiler



They showed her character digging the guys ship out of the rubble, but obviously he was alive at one point because he sent out the beacon. We don't know what the time warp is like on that planet, but you can assume that the year(s) they spent flying to each world through the worm hole could have been spent flying there and they'd have found him. Plus, that was the world that ended up being able to sustain life. So she was right the whole time. The fact that MattyM didn't listen to her was what screwed them up.


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## wankerness (May 17, 2015)

Yeah, I think the movie basically proved her right too, in multiple ways both thematically and plotwise. I didn't really mind that aspect of it, I just thought the speech itself was embarrassing.


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## bhakan (May 18, 2015)

I was really disappointed in the ending of this movie. I about 2/3 of the way through I thought this could of been one of my favorite movies, I was really enjoying it, but then right at the end the tone and feel of the movie totally changed. 



Spoiler



I really enjoyed the way that towards the end, you had kind of begrudgingly accepted that they had to abandon the people of earth. It was heartbreaking because of the relationship between Cooper and his daughter, but it reflected the difficulty of this near impossible mission and the all too real possibility of failing. 

Then, this miraculous possibility of success appears. He could save everyone on earth by sacrificing himself. I still enjoyed this though, as Cooper's sacrifice made the idea of receiving data from a black hole seem more plausible and fit in with the tone, but when they saved him and reunited him with his daughter, while it was a really touching scene, I felt it kind of messed up the whole tone of the movie to me. Even though it was obviously science _fiction_, it felt realistic and gritty, up until the end when it suddenly goes from everyone on earth will die to a fairy tale ending where everyone lives happily ever after.


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## wankerness (May 18, 2015)

From the beginning it was going in that direction. It's not very gritty, and it's always got the primary focus on the relationship between McConaughey and his daughter, even though it has a lot of detours. You might not like it, but it's definitely not inconsistent in its overall tone. The whole thing reminded me very much of The Abyss, another very touchy-feely sci-fi movie.


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## bhakan (May 18, 2015)

wankerness said:


> From the beginning it was going in that direction. It's not very gritty, and it's always got the primary focus on the relationship between McConaughey and his daughter, even though it has a lot of detours. You might not like it, but it's definitely not inconsistent in its overall tone. The whole thing reminded me very much of The Abyss, another very touchy-feely sci-fi movie.


I totally didn't mean to use gritty, I meant more like bleak or something. I liked the focus on the relationship between him and his daughter, but basically I just wanted it to end differently. Having watched the whole thing looking back, I agree that it isn't inconsistent, but 2/3 through I was really focusing on different things and saw the movie differently than it was intended and really enjoyed that interpretation, which is why I was disappointed when it "changed."


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## beneharris (May 18, 2015)

This movie wrecked me so many times when it was tugging on the heartstrings. I'm sure its cause I'm a new dad and all, but boy, I wanted to cry at a few parts.


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