Interstellar – Docking Scene
When it comes to action sequences, there are few things more exciting than an unfathomably huge object moving at break-neck speeds. Throw in the need for intense precision, plus almost unbeatable odds and the stakes of sure death, and you’ve got yourself a sweat-inducing masterpiece. That’s the case with the space docking scene of Interstellar, one of the most remarkable movie moments of 2014.
Interstellar hit the full range of emotions, but there wasn’t a scene that had me more on the edge of my seat than the docking. The stakes were well-established beforehand, but even if they hadn’t been, just watching the spinning space ship try to align with the station would have blown me away. The tension is absolutely unbearable. In fact, I’m getting a bit nauseous just thinking about it.
Both Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway play the scene with an intensity that’s unrivalled in the rest of the film and in any space epic in a very long time. There’s shock, there’s despair, but most of all, there’s fear-fuelled brilliance. Some will say this scene was just a portion of the force of last year’s Gravity, but to me it seems as if Nolan took everything done in Gravity, learned from it, and improved on it. The result is a few unforgettable minutes of hurtling through space.
– Alexander Lowe