Interstellar (2014)
Ranked 11 of 29 science fiction films by recommenders
People praise its high-quality production, practical effects and memorable scenes. The most common caveat is that the plot falls apart near the end, with a black hole and hand-waved science.
People praise its high-quality production, practical effects and memorable scenes. The most common caveat is that the plot falls apart near the end, with a black hole and hand-waved science.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 52%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Highly produced, strong craft and practical effects
“they are particularly highly produced, where all crafts making up that movie are treated highly”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros” “Great filmmakers with big budgets are still doing this type of practical effects work”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Creating the Futurescape for the Fifth Element [2019]” Strong detail before the ending
“Interstellar was amazing until the end with the black hole unraveling the plot”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “Pirating the Pirates” “Neuro-Diverse level of detail until the bits with space magic at the end.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Archaeologists Find Egyptian Mummy Buried with the 'Iliad'” Memorable scenes and exchanges
“My favorite rendering of four dimensions is the library scene in Interstellar.”
Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “You gotta think outside the hypercube” “There's a wonderful exchange in the movie Interstellar that speaks to this”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “What did SFFA vs. Harvard reveal about admissions?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Ending hand-waves the science and adds space magic
“Interstellar was amazing until the end with the black hole unraveling the plot”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “Pirating the Pirates” “I enjoyed Interstellar but found the ending unsatisfying and a bit hand wavy”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Pirating the Pirates” “Neuro-Diverse level of detail until the bits with space magic at the end.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Archaeologists Find Egyptian Mummy Buried with the 'Iliad'” - Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Physically accurate black hole you can put in your room”
Plot runs on movie logic, physics ignored
“the rest of the movie runs on movie logic, enough so that every physicist I know rolls their eyes at it”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Archaeologists Find Egyptian Mummy Buried with the 'Iliad'” “you really have to turn your brain off to avoid thinking "what? that makes no sense" constantly”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Colossus: The Forbin Project” “Even ignoring physics, it's a lazy plot device.”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “Pirating the Pirates” Dismissed as silly or mediocre
“Interstellar was visually stunning, but absolute crap otherwise.”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “SETI Home Flags 100 Signals After Sorting 12B Others” “Interstellar is one of the silliest movies I've ever seen”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “A Silly Adaptation of "The Odyssey"” “basically fantasy adventures for an audience aged 12-14”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “An Uncomplicated Man” - Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “An Uncomplicated Man”
Other science fiction films people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blade Runner | 54 | 11 | 83% | 10 | 34 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Colossus: The Forbin Project | 35 | 2 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Jurassic Park (1993 film) | 32 | 7 | 82% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Fifth Element | 24 | 3 | 89% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Interstellar (2014)This page | 11 | 10 | 52% | 8 | — | — |
What people said
21 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Even ignoring physics, it's a lazy plot device.”
“I enjoyed Interstellar but found the ending unsatisfying and a bit hand wavy”
“I liked that part a lot actually.”
“Interstellar was amazing until the end with the black hole unraveling the plot”
“Interstellar was mediocre at best”
“that approach wasn't a good fit for Nolan's personality or his technical skills”
“basically fantasy adventures for an audience aged 12-14”
“Interstellar did this too, and tried to handwave it away very unconvincingly”
“I really don't get the praise for it. I doubt ill ever have the desire to watch it again.”
“Interstellar is one of the silliest movies I've ever seen”
“There's a wonderful exchange in the movie Interstellar that speaks to this”
“I'll still watch a good movie, for sure.”
“Neuro-Diverse level of detail until the bits with space magic at the end.”
“the rest of the movie runs on movie logic, enough so that every physicist I know rolls their eyes at it”
“you really have to turn your brain off to avoid thinking "what? that makes no sense" constantly”
“Great filmmakers with big budgets are still doing this type of practical effects work”
“My favorite rendering of four dimensions is the library scene in Interstellar.”
“Interstellar (debatable, but it's good)”
“Interstellar was visually stunning, but absolute crap otherwise.”
“For me much better than Interstellar”
“they are particularly highly produced, where all crafts making up that movie are treated highly”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.