Reviewed by: John Decker
CONTRIBUTOR
Moral Rating: | Offensive |
Moviemaking Quality: |
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Primary Audience: | Adults Teens |
Genre: | Sci-Fi Adventure Mystery IMAX |
Length: | 2 hr. 49 min. |
Year of Release: | 2014 |
USA Release: |
November 5, 2014 (limited) November 7, 2014 (wide—3,500+ theaters) DVD: March 31, 2015 |
Humanity certainly does have serious problems and does need help from above.
Does mankind’s ultimate future depend on NASA?
Is man our ultimate savior? Are we ultimately our own gods?
What does the Bible say is the ulimate hope of mankind? —Jesus Christ
We are not alone in the universe, God is with us, He has a purpose and plan for us, and He is in ultimate control.
the majesty and laws of the universe point to its Creator
If God made everything, who made God? Answer
Is Jesus Christ God? Answer
Is Love, itself, a transcendent reality, or is it just an emotional reaction inside us?
the ultimate power of love / Human love can fail, but God’s love does not. (1 Corinthians 13
self-sacrifice
Should you act altruistically or just act to ensure my own survival?
courage
forgiveness
parent and children relationships and legacies / intergenerational relationships
reconciliation
It is best to stay at home and raise a family or better to sacrifice that role of parent to go out and “save the world,” if needed?
Is it okay to lie to give others hope in a desperate situation?
EARTH’S ENVIRONMENT—Should Christians be concerned about the environment? Answer
What is man’s responsibility to the environment? Answer
Einstein’s theory of relativity
theoretical physics
physicist Kip Thorne’s theories of gravity fields, wormholes and black holes / Thorne was “raised Mormon but later on became an atheist”
theory of wormholes, space-time warp and space human space travel
Cosmologists Step from Science to Science Fiction
Physicist Receives Million-Pound Prize for Predicting a “Hypercosmic God”
astronomy in the Bible
Featuring |
Matthew McConaughey … Cooper Anne Hathaway … Brand Jessica Chastain … Murph Matt Damon … Actor (uncredited) Michael Caine … Casey Affleck … Tom Topher Grace … Ellen Burstyn … Old Murph John Lithgow … Donald David Oyelowo … Principal William Devane … Old Tom Timothée Chalamet … Young Tom Mackenzie Foy … Young Murph See all » |
Director | Christopher Nolan — “The Dark Knight,” “Dark Knight Rises,” “Inception” |
Producer |
Legendary Pictures Lynda Obst Productions See all » |
Distributor |
Paramount Pictures Corporation, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS |
The visuals, the sound and special effects of “Interstellar” are highly commendable. I saw “Interstellar” at an IMAX theater. It is a fun and intense movie. It’s meaningful, thoughtful, very intriguing scientifically, and it sticks to you. I recommend it for most ages. I suppose in the case of “Interstellar,” I am mostly in agreement with the PG-13 or perhaps 11 age suggestion because some of the activity would appear occultic to a very young mind that doesn’t follow the story well.
The trailers for “Interstellar” don’t give away the bulk of the movie. Kudos for that, if, like me, you prefer to be surprised. What lies within “Interstellar” doesn’t contain a whole lot of direct theological controversy. That is, it doesn’t highlight any particular philosophy, save that of man being his own mortal savior.
There is little to no allusion to immortality or an afterlife. It is the plight of every strict non-believer that we are alone, and man is his only solitary answer. There is a strong theme of that in the movie. After all, it certainly does not point to Christ nor to faith in God in any general sense.
Is there a greater intelligence out there in the universe, or are we all there is?
What if the cosmos is all that there is? Answer
How can we know there’s a God? Answer
The “Interstellar” story is set in a time when the Earth is becoming uninhabitable. Uninhabitable due to what is somewhat unclear, but food is becoming scarce and variety of food is being lost. Fending for himself, man carves out his destiny in space. Looking for another planet, he struggles for the love he left behind.
There is one strong, strict evolutionary plug in “Interstellar,” but it is for the learned ear. If you’re concerned that “Interstellar” may go beyond the likes of common science fiction regarding the nature of life and its existence beyond Earth—if that theological boundary concerns you—particularly for the younger audience, I believe you can take comfort that it does not do so.
There is talk of “ghosts,” but the outcome is not so much occultic as it is science fiction. I don’t want to say too much more about this, so as to not give away the story, but while “Interstellar” taps into the concept of other dimensions and beings beyond our reach, know that it does so with the hand of science fiction and not some religious or particularly occultic objective.
Humanist worldview / Secular Humanism—What Is It?
Pantheism—the erroneous belief that the universe and God are identical, and that God is not personal and as described in the Bible / Note: In reality, the universe is merely a creation of God and will be destroyed at the end of the Millenium, when God creates a New Heavens and New Earth.
“Interstellar” is devoid of sex, nudity or drugs. It contains less profanity than many PG-13 movies. Details below.
For many Christians, there is only so much about the good in a story they generally feel comfortable embracing or espousing unless the message points directly to Christ. This film does not point to Christ, but it points to love, endurance, charity, loyalty, family, humanity and tough choices in an inspiring manner, worthy of the labor of life we all share.
Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Moderate to heavy—“Jesus” (2), GD, OMG, damn, “You f***-ing coward,” s-words (5), “*ss” (5) / Sex/Nudity: Minor
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.
I also appreciated that the “Interstellar” script undertook some major themes about humanity—do you think it’s worth thinking about questions like these: “should I act altruistically or just act to ensure my own survival? Is it okay to lie to give others hope in a desperate situation? It is best to stay at home and raise a family or better to sacrifice that role of parent to go out and “save the world?” Is there some greater intelligence out there in the universe, or are we all there is? Is Love itself a transcendent reality or is it just an emotional reaction inside us?” And don’t forget that one haunting question that keeps us all up at night: “how can I cross-dimensionally change a watch into a cool morse code machine?” See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4