By Emma Saley – Staff Reporter

When “Interstellar” was released in 2014, it became an instant hit, setting an IMAX worldwide opening record. It received praise for both its visual effects, which it won an Oscar for, and for the performances of actors Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.

In “Interstellar”, which is set in the near future, the fate of mankind is at stake as Earth’s crops start to die off, and dust storms sweep across the world.

When Cooper, a former NASA astronaut, and his daughter Murph stumble upon a top-secret NASA building, Cooper is presented with the impossible choice to either stay on Earth with his family as humanity dies off, or go on a mission to find a new home for mankind.

This mission means not only leaving Earth, but the galaxy as well, as the plan includes entering a wormhole found on Saturn to travel to a galaxy light years away with 12 planets that may possibly be fit for humans to live.

Cooper is persuaded to go on the NASA mission, and leaves his family and Murph  behind indefinitely, not knowing how old his children will be, or if anyone will still be alive when he returns, due to time passing much slower in the new galaxy than it does on Earth.

Once aboard, the team is tasked with the mission to find a way to navigate around Gargantua, a super-massive black hole, to reach the possibly habitable planets, and decide which one will be humanity’s future home.

“Interstellar” keeps everyone in its audience intrigued, and wondering what will happen next as Cooper and his team transcend space and time. The audience is left wanting more after every scene, desperate with hope to see Cooper return back home and reunite with his family.

While Cooper is on his mission, he is sent videos of his family, providing him comfort as he is able to see his family again, and giving him pain at the same time as he sees all the milestones he has missed while away.

The visual effects used make the viewer feel as though they are right there in space with Cooper, as does the cast’s performance.

McConaughey shines as Cooper, making the audience feel the pain and agony he feels when realizing the mistake he made by leaving his family behind.

With a very limited amount of time on their hands, the crew has to find a way to save the human race from extinction.

“Interstellar” is filled with plot twists and unexpected revelations, surprising its audience at every possible moment, and it’s cast and crew truly excel all standards to produce one of the best films of the year.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars