15 Things Wrong With Interstellar

3. The Matt Damon Segment Is Forced, Pointless & Overlong

If there's any part of Interstellar that feels utterly superfluous, it's the subplot on planet Mann, where the crew discover Dr. Mann (Matt Damon) in stasis. They soon enough learn that Mann exaggerated the viability of his planet simply so that he could be rescued, leading to a fight between Cooper and Mann which nearly results in Cooper's death. When Mann steals one of their ships and attempts to dock it into the Endurance, he ends up being exploded by depressurisation, and Cooper and co. proceed to the third and final planet. It's already predictable enough that, with three planets to explore, the first two are obviously going to be a bust, but did Nolan really need to force Damon's character to be an antagonist, as if the stakes weren't already high enough? The fight between Mann and Cooper in addition looks incredibly silly, especially the little headbutting battle they have with their helmets, and on the whole, it seems like the movie would fare better with this surprisingly lengthy subplot (lasting around half an hour) cut out completely. It's no criticism to Damon, of course, who is always a welcome presence in pretty much any movie, but he isn't given a character befitting of his vast talents at all.