When Christopher Nolan was preparing to release his galactic epic, he cited sci-fi classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner as his inspirations. And the director was on a hot streak, having just completed his acclaimed The Dark Knight trilogy and also finding success with the mind-bending Inception. So what exactly happened with Interstellar? Its visuals are absolutely astounding, and its story about a dark future in which humanity must find a new planet to inhabit is inherently stirring. (Plus, the creative team tapped the mind of brilliant physicist Kip Thorne to guarantee the film's scientific accuracy.)

But as beautiful and ambitious as Interstellar is, narratively it's Nolan’s dippiest film, telling a hokey family drama in which retired NASA pilot Coop (a blissed-out Matthew McConaughey) must save the human race while dealing with grief and the struggles of being a father. The movie tries to balance the cosmic with the personal, but the thin characters aren't nearly as compelling as the fate-of-the-planet stakes. No one wants humanity to end, but can we at least hang out with some better heroes before it does?