'Interstellar' may go down as the most polarizing film of 2014

Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar

I am used to knowing how I feel pretty much instantly about a Christopher Nolan movie. He has a unique capacity to really grab your attention from the very opening titles.

I knew I loved his Dark Knight films and Inception long before the credits rolled, but I am still not sure about Interstellar.

It's his most ambitious movie yet and you can't deny the genius of its craftsmanship. It has some really interesting, intelligent ideas and concepts in it and the cast -- despite having to utter some pretty leaden dialogue at times -- it mostly excellent. Still, it struggles with over a dozen plot holes so wide can drive out a Buick through them and some truly cornball moments that feel like something out of one of M. Night Shyamalan's more watchable movies.

But I think I am leaning towards calling this movie great, despite its pretty glaring flaws. It's not my favorite Nolan movie by far, but I also think I will find it more rewarding with repeated views. I am very curious about the path this expensive epic will take commercially. Its nearly three-hour length and more maudlin aspects may turn off a lot of viewers. The word "gravity" is uttered at least a dozen times and serves as a steady reminder of that shorter, more accessible and arguably more fun Sandra Bullock-George Clooney blockbuster of the same name from last year. Fanboys expecting an action extravaganza will surely be disappointed by a movie that is talkier and more sentimental than anything Nolan has made before.

Still, I admire the hell out of this movie if nothing else than for the balls it took to make it. And it does have one unassailable show-stopping set piece involving a massive wall of water that rivals anything Nolan has made before or since.

Anne Hathaway in Interstellar

The movie has essentially three and a half acts. Most of the critical quibbling has been over the latter half of the film but I struggled the most through the opening. Nolan movies are usually a propulsive rush but this movie felt plodding to me during the early scenes which establish the McConaughey character's incredibly close relationship with his daughter Murphy. This portion of the film, with its existential dread and Shyamalan-esque mysticism, had me shifting in my seat.

But once the adventure portion of the film kicks into gear I was more hooked. Everyone on the planet seems to hate Anne Hathaway right now -- but Nolan seems to know how to tap into her most appealing qualities. Here, as in The Dark Knight Rises, she is an appealing presence and counterpoint to McConaughey's down home charms. They are on a mission to find a more inhabitable atmosphere and source of food because Earth is being gradually enveloped by dust clouds. The stakes are huge. In some circumstances, hours they spend in one location can cost them years back on earth and if they fail humanity is doomed. This set-up and its fallout are terrific but it's the movie's explanations and resolutions that probably require the biggest leap of faith.

I've never sat down and tried to parse whether Inception's logic pans out or makes sense, that film did enough to sell me on its premise. Interstellar labors mightily to both wring emotion and play mental gymnastics with its conceits, and I'm not sure it succeeds. Far too often I found myself questioning the logic of characters' decisions and rolling my eyes at all-too-obvious symbolism.

There is a lot to like about this film. I like the movie's concept of robots and how it delves into complex questions on the nature of time and whether it makes more sense to try to salvage a dying species or start a new one. And despite my quibbles with the film I want it to be successful, because the world needs more thought-provoking blockbusters. I just hope the next one is a little bit more fun.

There are far too few moments of levity in Interstellar and it's so concerned with being epic that its sonorous score often drowns out some of the actors who are trying to emote with subtlety. For Nolan haters this film will confirm their suspicions that he is a shallow fraud. But for fans of his, like me, this movie marks an intriguing departure -- a flawed would-be masterpiece that proves, if nothing else, that Nolan (and his co-writer brother) is not looking to repeat himself.