“Interstellar” was easily my most anticipated movie of the year. The theoretical physics fanboy within me really enjoyed the idea of combining black hole and gravitational physics with cinema. It was an exceptionally complicated and huge undertaking, but I came out of the theater feeling satisfied.

While the concept was well executed, I can’t help but feel like the overall experience of the film was bogged down slightly by minor problems.

I don’t know what it is with Christopher Nolan movies, but the man seems to always have a hard time getting dialogue to work. Mackenzie Foy, who played young Murph One child actor  I found difficult to follow at times just due to her lack of enunciation. Her acting wasn’t bad, but the words themselves didn’t quite register for me.

On the same note, the dialogue in the film is its biggest detriment. There was more cheese in this script than any other Nolan film. It really bothered me to see such an awesome story concept be plastered with on-the-nose expository dialogue through the first act of the film. It does improve as the film goes on, but it took a while for it to really take off.

Of course, the visual elements of the film are remarkable. Without spoiling anything, there are moments that legitimately made my jaw drop. That’s likely only due to my vast interest in space, but the visuals would be compelling to anyone nonetheless.

Nolan has always used a mixture of practical and computer generated effects in his films, opting for the practical whenever possible. This creates a really tangible and textured reality, even in the scenes that are completely CGI. The effects are used so sparingly that jumping between the two never really feels jarring.

The most prominent exterior shots of the film, usually taking place in the void of space, were the most exhilarating thing to watch in the entire film. I would have loved to have seen more of it, as every moment of it was breathtaking.

Hans Zimmer’s score was excellent, although repetitive. The use of an organ throughout the soundtrack was fitting in juxtaposition with the vacuum of space. That being said, it is more or less the same organ riff throughout the film, and I wish the score expanded to more than one melody.

Matthew McConaughey proves once again that when he’s not doing bad commercials, he’s actually a really talented actor. The most emotional scenes of the film required a lot of talent, and he is certainly capable of being the leading man. Anne Hathaway pulls her weight as well, delivering another powerful performance.

Overall, while the film doesn’t satisfy every expectation I had going into the theater, “Interstellar” is still one of my favorite movies of the year.