Every once in a while a movie comes along that leaves you in amazement. Inception is such a film. The visuals, along with well told, thought provoking story make this film the best of the summer so far.
Inception is director Christopher Nolan’s imagination of the dream world and the possibilities that come with sharing a dream with others.
Dreams have become the new “bank vault” or “safe” where ideas are kept. For a business or rival to steal these ideas is something a tune to corporate espionage. This is where Cobb (Leanardo DiCaprio) and his team come into play. They can break into the your mind as you’re sleeping and take that which is most precious from you, your ideas.
This film is not what you’re expecting. The story of Inception is not like anything you have seen for a very long time. The plot is quite complex, but attributes of the plot are well explained and seem to make sense to those of us who have had dreams. Something very intricate to the plot is “dream time”. Nolan’s explanation of the “dream time” concept allows him to tell his story with some amazing camera work and action sequences. We soon find ourselves deeply entrenched in the story from the beginning and captivated to the very end.
The cinematography is mind blowing. Many times I found myself wondering how (even with movie magic) did they manage to capture that on film without looking fake or having that CGI feel. The characters of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Ariadne (Ellen Page) perform remarkable feats that are both breathtaking to view on screen and imagination inspiring.
DiCaprio’s performance in the film was exceptional. The anger, hurt, and sometimes violence he portrayed were certainly believable and the dialog given to him to progress the story along was sharp with no “fluff” or “filler”.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has certainly gained some acting respect from this viewer. As I watched the trailers for Inception, I was taken back to his early work on “Third Rock from the Sun”. In the film, his straight-laced, strong, intelligent portrayal of Arthur was nowhere near “Third Rock” and I had to remind myself that he was the same guy. I was impressed with not only the scenes he was in, but also some of the feats he performed during the action sequences.
I can’t give much away for fear of spoilers. A further plot synopsis would either confuse or give away too much. All I can say is that Nolan has done an exceptional job with the storytelling. There is action, emotion, and imagination in this film. No, it’s not perfect, and I would have liked to see a bit more backstory on how they came to be such and elite “dream team”.
See it if…
Just go see it. If you’re a fan of movies, the storyline, the cinematography, the acting, the score, and even the ending are excellent and need to be experienced at least once.
Skip it if…
You have a low attention span. Because the film requires you to pay a bit of attention, you may find that if you’re not keeping up, things may get a little confusing. No worries though, you can always go see it again. It’s worth it.
