I loved it.
I think that McConaughey's dialogue was terse, appropriately unsophisticated and was sold by the actor as authentic. The science people do tend to speak in TED talks but I thought if a character has to express ideas of science, ethics, existentialism and love...all in one sentence...for each and every sentence then I'll swallow that for the price you pay in dealing with the big ideas. But in and around that I just found the production mesmerising. The dust bowl in the opening segment was a mood piece I could get really into...which alleviates the sentiment and the rest of the film is a gorgeous and terrifying terrain of otherness and I think the score must be one of the best I've ever experienced. (It escalated to Goblin-esque excess of chanting clamour during the airlock sequence and I just love that).
I'm not sure about the epilogue which felt over-egged and over-literal in light of the elegant and rather obvious 2001 get out ending it passed up.
There's also a dodgy Outer Limits feel to the chief reveal which noticeably stands out as a pulp aspect of sci-fi amid the rest of the film's admirable high-end bid.
It'll be a cliche that this is a flawed masterpiece. I'm not sure it's a masterpiece, I think it'll make a consummate cult classic if it manages to dodge Oscar buzz, which will bring down a backlash that it might not be able to withstand.
Fascinating, visually beautiful and proper thrilling on more occasions one can count on two hands. Not too bad at all.
4/5 for me.
(in reply to Empire Admin)