When I told some classmates that Moonfall was the screening I was least looking forward to this week, (to be fair, Jackass Forever and Death on the Nile both bring far more exciting possibilities) people thought I simply “hate sci-fi.” This could not be further from the truth. Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies ever, Arrival and Ex Machina are two masterpieces from the past decade. My love for sci-fi is contingent, I will admit. It has to be well-thought-out. I don’t want to say that every sci-fi movie needs as much depth as Annihilation, but give me something more to chew on than explosions and exposition dumps. That brings us to Moonfall, a Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Godzilla) film that is exactly what I despise in the genre. And now, in all fairness, Moonfall is never disguising itself to be anything that it’s not. There’s never a moment that Moonfall feels like it’s trying to be serious, much less be taken seriously, but that excuse feels limited to a select few types of movies a la what Fast & Furious has become. Despite this and plenty of gorgeous visuals, Moonfall doesn’t do enough in between the explosions and the exposition that will hold your attention longer than the New York Giants give Daniel Jones to throw the ball.

I guess a premise is in order. Aliens from the moon attack Earth and it’s up to Jo Fowler (Halle Berry), Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), and K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) to stop them. Sound half-baked? That’s because the plot of Moonfall is exactly that. Sure, it pads its runtime to two-plus hours, but aside from the first ten minutes and the last half hour that give audiences exactly what they’re here to see: aliens and explosions, the middle hour and a half is just generic 90’s action movie slob full of walking clichés. Take Patrick Wilson’s character for example, would it surprise you to know that he is an estranged astronaut who is roped back into a mission? Brian also must mend the bridges between him and his work partner/work wife, Jo, and his son, Sonny (Charlie Plummer), who is at the make-or-break age of his life, 18.

To reiterate, the intentions of Moonfall are clear, but the human side of all of this is far more boring than the aliens. No one is expecting a character study of Brian’s family as he attempts to rebuild his life. In fact, his ex-wife’s new husband, Tom (Michael Peña) dying might be the only notable thing that happens on Earth. And it’d be far more interesting if they didn’t try to for redemption for him as if he was anything other than a prick. I mean, he literally questions Brian’s decision to go up to space and attempt to save the world saying: “That’s one way to avoid paying rent,” as if he can do anything more than get you a low-mileage lease on your next Lexus. A film like Moonfall is a perfect example of appropriate melodrama; characters like Tom usually come with some sort of catharsis as the bad man is taken down, but the attempt at redemption begs the question of whether or not this decision was due to the fact that Peña is beloved in the MCU.

Brian’s son, Sonny, and his entire arc isn’t much better. Sonny goes down a dark path after his father is basically exiled at the beginning of the movie. 10 years later and Sonny is in a GTA-style car chase. The fact that Sonny and Brian reconnecting is of very little interest to viewers is not the fault of the actors. When your script includes lines such as “Are you, a college boy?” when people are being held at gunpoint, I don’t think there is much hope for any other parts of the script.

Even worse than that genius and witty line is the exposition dump that happens with roughly 20 minutes left. By the time this happens, you’ll already have wanted to leave the theater. But Brian is told the history of humans, aliens, and the moon by alien intelligence a la the Supreme Intelligence in Captain Marvel. “Your ancestors” is used at least five times, and that’s about the most memorable part of it.

For as bad as Moonfall is, at least the visuals are (mostly) captivating. The opening sequence is space is a horrifying abyss, and the alien lifeform looks pretty cool, albeit like the grime from my dorm room shower. But aside from, once again, the opening sequence and the last 40 minutes, these “dazzling images on a huge silver screen” are hard to come by beyond that. And that is truly a shame. I was completely in for the first 20 minutes before being lost in the middle and then regained once it seemed like we were heading to an epic third act climax.

A lone standout from the cast is John Bradley. Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson are both fine, but there’s nothing special about their performances that will be remembered after the credits roll. Bradley, however, brings a joyfulness to his characters’ impotence. Think of the opening sequence of Spider-Man 2, where Peter can’t even deliver pizzas on time (Imagine being able to swing from webs and not get across Manhatten in time!) or stay awake in classes (This one is understandable). Bradley’s character, K.C. Houseman except he works in a suburban fast-food chain. His scientific finding and attempt to get NASA’s attention was just seen in Don’t Look Up, which is also funnier and has a memorable script, so don’t expect Moonfall to top it. This isn’t a critique of Bradley, but the ending of the film sets up a sequel that no one wants to see. If it comes to fruition, just imagine Jamie Foxx’s Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with the power of aliens instead of blue lightning.

Unfortunately, Moonfall isn’t the next great sci-fi epic that will blow people’s minds as Independence Day did so many years ago. It’s a nice return to a different era of mind-numbing action, at least this doesn’t involve Dwayne Johnson or Ryan Reynolds, but in the 21st century, you either need a little bit more sophistication or a full commitment to ridiculousness. Playing both sides of the fence, as Moonfall does, is a disaster of a grand scale like an alien invasion from the moon.

Lionsgate will release Moonfall on February 4.