Inception fails to surprise in the post-Matrix era

Rating: 7/10 (20 July 2010)

I have to be honest: I waited for inception for a long time and was hoping to be blown out of my chair. However, I couldn't believe how similar the movie is to a lot of movies out there.
First of all, the roles: being so close to the release of Shutter Island, I am surprised that Dicaprio decided to take on a role fairly similar to that one, where the emotional and psychological baggage are pretty much the same. Similarly, the way he deals with it is by handling guns and violent projections. Very shallow psychological treatment to tell you the truth.
As for the plot, it reminds me of the Matrix in many ways. Beyond the obvious (the dreamworld, the weird sci-fi language with new lingos like "totem", and so on), it captures the same cinematographic transformation of psychological ideas (in matrix these were ideas of the virtual computer world). For example, the defences of the mind taking shape as a semi-army of private militia men. In the Matrix the defences of the computer world take shape as Mr Smith. This visualization as weak and it merely serves to bring down the movie to a realistic level of movie-watching a la Die Hard.
To be honest, I don't know what the big deal with this movie is. Sure, the effects are superb, the slow montion scenes are fantastic, and the plot is compelling while you are watching it. But as you leave the theatre, as you digest it, you can't help making associations and the ideas and the plot seemed recycled from somewhere else.
In a post-matrix world, I believe Inception fails to surprise and merely entertains.