'Suddenly, for a short amount of time, the stars arent so far away,' writes Zig Marasigan

The difficulties of space travel are very real. After the recent crash of Virgin Galactics SpaceShip Two and the mid-flight explosion of the unmanned NASA Antares rocket, spaceflight has had a spotty record at best over the past two weeks.

FORWARD. The voyage to space takes its emotional toll. All photos courtesy of Warner Bros

But despite the inherent risks of space flight, the scientific community continues to reach passionately, and perhaps foolishly, for the stars. (READ: New Nolan movie Interstellar tackles space, love, sacrifice)

Coincidentally, Interstellar is very similar in that regard. It is an ambitious piece of cinematic work that brazenly attempts to distill the herculean task of interstellar travel into a palatable 3-hour movie. But like the doomed population of Earth, the odds are against it.

Set in the indeterminate future, Interstellar doesnt shower us with visions of technological progress. Instead, the film greets us with the familiar vistas of the American countryside. But hiding behind the postcard views of cornfields and rural homes is the depressing reality that the world is running out of food.

Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former pilot and engineer, has resigned himself to life as a farmer, helping grow corn for surviving members of humanity. But when Cooper stumbles upon a decades-long plan to leave Earth, he is asked to lead a team of scientists to establish humanitys first extraterrestrial colony.

From its premise alone, Interstellar grasps at more straws than it can realistically handle. The idea of following humanitys first steps into the far reaches of space is already a large enough concept, and depicting it in any believable fashion is no small matter.

But director and co-writer Christopher Nolan was never known to be a filmmaker with small ideas. Interstellar is Nolans most ambitious project to date, which says a lot about the man behind The Dark Knight Trilogy and Inception. And while Interstellar does stretch itself thin in a lot of places, it does so with the same dauntless ambition that makes space, truly, the final frontier.

Larger than life

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'Interstellar' Review: Reaching for the stars