Thanks to modern classics like Memento, The Dark Knight and Inception, director Christopher Nolan has become just as recognizable a brand in the film community as Disney-owned studios like Marvel and Pixar. In keeping with is reputation as arguably one of the most successful filmmakers of our time (and one of our favorites, to boot), a tremendous amount of anticipation and mystery have surrounded his latest film, Interstellar. But does the sci-fi epic live up to the pre-release hype, or does it serve as Nolan’s first creative misfire since ascending to the ranks of Hollywood royalty (notwithstanding the often-justified criticism of The Dark Knight Rises)?

Like most Nolan-helmed films, Interstellar is a puzzlebox of a film. However, without giving away too many details, the film follows a team of astronauts (led by Matthew McConaughey’s Cooper) on an exploratory mission to locate a faraway planet that could serve as a new home for the human race. Of course, in true Nolan fashion, the film’s main narrative is loaded with twists and turns that will challenge audiences’ intellect and, at times, their patience.

The good news is that fans who revel in the complexity of Nolan’s films will find plenty of food for thought in Interstellar. The film – which recruited noted theoretical physicist Kip Thorne to serve as executive producer – delves deep into the science of space-time, interplanetary travel and the very fabric of the universe, with mostly intriguing results. McConaughey continues his ongoing string of impressive performances, as does Jessica Chastain. Even young Mackenzie Foy delivers solid work, proving she is more capable than her limited appearance in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

The ideas inherent in Interstellar are on the level as the dream-within-a-dream conceit of Inception, and though they are perhaps not used quite as memorably as that 2010 feature, most moviegoers will find themselves drawn into the out-of-this-world (literally!) implications these concepts bring about. Furthermore, the film’s blatant environmental message and its ties to the 2011 real-life end of NASA’s space shuttle program lend a bit more gravitas to the more speculative elements of the film’s science.

However, despite its grand ambition, Interstellar is far from perfect and falls short of Nolan’s best work (see the first line of this piece for our picks). Its third act twist is perhaps the film’s most far-fetched elements and will certainly stump and likely alienate some viewers. While the film’s 169-minute runtime is earned by the sheer scope of the story alone, a handful of sequences do feel particularly drawn-out and/or superfluous. As a result, the film at times feels padded and pretentiously self-indulgent.

Moreover, Anne Hathaway – who was awarded an Academy Award for her tragic turn in 2012 musical Les Misérables – fails to hold her own as the female lead, especially among a cast of more seasoned performers. The McConaughey-Hathaway pairing, incidentally, falls far short of the chemistry and onscreen presence that Sandra Bullock and George Clooney brought to last year’s unforgettable Gravity.

Interstellar aims to tell a story about the joy of discovery, the power of love and the importance of “boldly going where no man has gone before” (to borrow that classic Star Trek mantra). The film succeeds in creating a thought-provoking tale that posits where mankind could, in fact, end up down the line but falls short in truly selling some of that story’s finer thematic and scientific points. Still, the film – bolstered as it is by a stirring Hans Zimmer score – is a worthy addition to the Nolan oeuvre, despite its flaws. The very fact that the biggest strike against the film is that it fails to prove itself a masterwork is a telling piece of evidence in just how strong a storytelling prowess Nolan has developed thus far.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Interstellar stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy and Michael Caine. It is directed by Christopher Nolan and is now in theaters.