As some of you may know, I am a huge SF geek. From Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Frank Herbert to Iain M. Banks and comic books, I read them all. And few movies have made an impact on me as Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. As such, I was delighted to see Christopher Nolan's Interstellar.

First things first -- I have tried to avoid blatant spoilers here, but if you haven't seen either, then this thread could potentially ruin it for you.

With that out of the way, let me also add that if you lack the sufficient context of 2001 and other SF greats, then you will appreciate Interstellar a whole lot less. I have friends who are not SF geeks, and they think Interstellar does not make any sense whatsoever.

Right at the beginning, you can see references to magical realism and post-apocalyptic settings -- the library has books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Stephen King's The Stand. The library at the end is very reminiscent of Jorge Luis Borges' Library of Babel. There are references to Metropolis and several other little nuggets.

Much like Kurbick's 2001, Interstellar has three acts. They are in lockstep with 2001, but end very differently. AI plays a role, but as a benign, almost human, companion. Ultimately, it's not about some magical alien super gods saving humanity, but rather humanity's own resilience.

You see the monoliths, you see the library, the AI, the continuity of the story line. You have closure. And you have two civilizations, out of lockstep. The ending is not something fantastic, but something very... boring yet human.

io9 had a phenomenal article comparing the two: http://observationdeck.io9.com/the-m...1-a-1659091453

If you have not seen it, I strongly recommend that you do!