Christopher Nolans latest has been endlessly compared to Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey, and not without good reason. The director himself has cited Kubricks sci-fi epic as an inspiration, and thats clear to see in Interstellar: whilst Nolans blessed with several more decades of IRL space travel and research to draw upon, he has a similar dedication to getting things scientifically accurate, whilst also pinging off into the more speculative, hypothetical worlds of the human condition. Interstellar is about saving humanity from extinction as much as 2001 is about monkeys and space travel. Or at least, it tries to be. Where Kubricks film is a deep exploration of our place in the universe, Interstellars journey beyond the stars returns audiences to that most trite of Hollywood truisms: love is the most powerful force in the universe. Love is all you need. If The Beatles sang about it, its probably not a challenging philosophical quandary. So perhaps Nolans preoccupations arent as deep as he thought (although they are profoundly shallow) (and pretty). Want something a little meatier to get your teeth into? Here are ten superior philosophical sci-fi films to Interstellar.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
