Interstellar was one of my most anticipated films of 2014, and it is for a lack of a better word, underwhelming.

I do like Christopher Nolan as a director, he's a great story teller and he knows how to make a movie. But this is two films in a row which I've been let down from him. Interstellar is not the massive dud that was The Dark Knight Rises. It's more of a mixed bag.

What I loved in this film is the father and daughter relationship between Cooper and Murph. Matthew McConaughey and Mackenzie Foy provide the film's emotional impact. Their relationship is very tender and have a sweetness to them. It's great to watch and is arguably the film's strongest element. I liked everyone's performances all around, Interstellar contains more than a few strong performances. McConaughey is great, as he displays his fine acting and you feel sorry for this character leaving his children behind. The film provides another emotional punch when he watches video messages of his children Tom(Casey Affleck) and Murphy(Jessica Chastain) grow up over time. Hathaway is decent too, she's conflicted, and trying to keep her emotions at bay. Ellen Burstyn has a small role, but it's a good one too. Oh the two robot assistants TARS and CASE were very amusing to watch and provides some levity and humor to the film.

The one that really stood out to me is Jessica Chastain. She is the one who shines bright. Her performance as the older Murph is very subtle and provides the right amount of emotion with each scene. I always thought Nolan's main weakness was his characterization on women, but that's starting to change. I strongly think she deserves an Oscar nomination at best.

The visuals are spectacular. Each planet they visit to see if it's inhabitable for the human race is bafflingly stunning. The planet that was covered in water is my favorite out of the bunch. If you have the chance to see it, definitely check it out on IMAX. It's gorgeous to look at. Like the film Gravity, it's stunningly beautiful. The film is technically very well made and well shot, as expected in a Christopher Nolan film.

The science isn't what bother's me in the film, it wasn't too hard to follow, in the end I got the gist of it. What bothered me was the mid to last half of the film. Although all the space scenes were great to look it, it provides some of the film's dullest moments with very dull dialog. Exposition is required in a film like this, but it was handled very clumsily, compared to Nolan's Inception and The Prestige.

Without going too much in the spoiler zone, when Matt Damon's character shows up, immediately after his character is introduced I knew where the plot was headed. This is where I was really irritated in the film. The chunk of that film is very unnecessary and only slowed the film down for me. I thought it provided some very unnecessary conflict, and very much has a been there and done that feel to it.

Towards the end I thought the conclusion of this film was pretty intriguing, and kind of wowed me in a way. I know some people out there are probably calling out it's scientific inaccuracy but I took it for what it was and it's quite cool how Nolan, his brother, and his crew were able to conclude the film with its overriding message about the powerful forces of the one thing we all know but can't measure in scientific terms. Love. It saved the film for me.

6.8/10