Interstellar, starring Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey as well as Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, tells the story of a 21st century Earth, almost completely devoid of vital, life-sustaining resources, that leaves the human race facing their rapidly approaching extinction.

Cooper, the protagonist of the film played by Matthew McConaughey is a farmer, who abandoned his career piloting spacecraft for NASA after a crash landing years ago and the death of his wife that left him alone to care for his two young children, Murph and Tom.

After a dust storm reveals a strange binary code on the floor of his daughter’s bedroom, Cooper discovers that the code stands for a set of coordinates. Compelled by his natural curiosity, Cooper sets of to explore this mystery location and stumbles upon NASA’s underground headquarters, a top-secret facility that has been kept underground, hidden from the public for decades.

As one of the few people left who still believes there may be a place out beyond the stratosphere that can support life, Cooper is recruited to pilot NASA’s final attempt to search for a habitable planet where the people of Earth can make a new home. If the mission fails, the entirety of the human race will die.

The film focuses heavily on the relativity of time, a theme that is crucial to the overall story. Hours in space can translate to decades on Earth and for every minute that passes, Cooper loses precious time with his family and has no way to communicate with them about when he will return or even that he’s still alive. It is this love for his children and for the people he has left behind on Earth that drives Cooper to successfully complete the mission, despite the impossible odds he faces in the vast frontier of space.

Along with a compelling and action-packed story line, the film is also visually astounding. Although the film has a run time of nearly three hours, there is not a minute that passes where it doesn’t completely enamor and entertain your senses. From the thunderous sound of spacecraft taking flight to the spinning of the astronauts launching themselves into an unexplored galaxy, every camera angle and sound effect makes you feel as if you are directly experiencing the situations that the characters are in, without feeling that the scene is being overdramatized.

In addition to being visually astounding, Interstellar is also an emotionally charged film, building the plot around the prominent ties between parents and their children as well as the power of love, and how it transcends time and even galaxies.

The film also features a magnificent, original score by renowned composer, Hans Zimmer, known for his work on The Lion King and The Dark Knight. Paired with the dramatic sounds of intense action and adventure, the score also perfectly complements the emotional intensity of the film and the personal conflicts that arise, as the notes rise and fall like a ballad, intensifying the emotional strain and sacrifices that Cooper and his family endure, as well as the dire situation of the people struggling to survive back on Earth.

Overall, it is safe to say that Interstellar is by far the best film release in months, perfectly incorporating intense action and suspense with deep-rooted emotions that can appeal to any audience.