11 Years Ago, a Sci-Fi Flop Beat Interstellar in a Major Way (& Nobody Remembers It)

Interstellar is the gold standard of the science fiction genre for many. What Christopher Nolan does is place a human story in a sci-fi setting, allowing the film’s heart to fill in any gaps that pop up. Matthew McConaughey also brings his A-game, ensuring that all of the dense dialogue stays on course and all of the emotional beats go off without a hitch. The result is something extraordinary that only gets better with rewatches, with Nolan leaving plenty of breadcrumbs early in the film that set the stage for the epic finale, in which McConaughey’s Coop discovers the key to humanity’s survival.

With all the love that Interstellar receives now, it’s hard to believe that critics didn’t love it upon its release in 2014. The consensus seemed to be that Nolan had bitten off more than he could chew and delivered a sci-fi epic that couldn’t stick the landing. Another entry in the genre that came out that year didn’t have nearly as much trouble getting positive word-of-mouth. However, it couldn’t get butts in seats, and that got in the way of it having the legacy that it deserves.

Interstellar Can’t Compete With Another 2014 Sci-Fi Movie in the Review Department

Back in the early 2010s, Michael and Peter Spierig had the brilliant idea to adapt Robert A. Heinlein’s short story,  ”‘—All You Zombies—’”, into a feature-length film. They didn’t receive a massive budget, but they had enough money burning a hole in their pockets to land Ethan Hawke for the lead role. Filming for Predestination kicked off in Australia in early 2013, and by March 2014, it was ready to screen for an audience at the SXSW Film Festival. The buzz coming out of the event was outstanding, with many critics singing the film’s praises because of its huge swings.

Predestination follows an agent for a time-travel organization named John Doe, who spends all his time hunting down the “Fizzle Bomber,” a criminal who sets up explosive devices at different points in time. Doe’s mission takes him to a bar in the 1970s, where he meets John, who tells a fascinating story. It turns out that John was born Jane, but after giving birth to a child, the doctors discovered she was intersex and gave her gender reassignment surgery. Doe offers John the chance to get back at the man who left her alone during the difficult time, and he accepts, which is when things really start to heat up.

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Once Doe and John travel back to the 1960s, John falls in love with Jane and realizes he’s both the mother and father of his child. Meanwhile, Doe takes on a mission of his own for his boss, Mr. Robertson, taking Jane’s baby to the 1940s and delivering it to an orphanage where Jane was found. So, Jane, John, and the baby are all the same person, and they also have a connection to the Fizzle Bomber. Doe confronts his target, who turns out to be a future version of himself, disillusioned by his employer’s mission. Despite having the chance to break the cycle, Doe completes his mission and returns home, only to reveal that he has scars from a gender reassignment surgery. Robertson has been playing everyone like a fiddle, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost.

It’s fair to assume that Predestination‘s ending is a bleak one, with Doe and all of the other versions of himself coming to grips with the fact that they’re nothing but pawns in a game. However, there’s a small sliver of hope in the message Doe leaves for John, one that teases that the cycle doesn’t have to last forever, which might be why so many people walk away from the movie feeling good. Topping Coop’s reunion with his daughter in Interstellar is tough, but Predestination gives it its best shot.

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