My 331st Review: A Brilliant Thinking Summer Blockbuster

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2010)

Not one person moved in the largest cinema in the Nordic region last night. The premiere started at 10 pm and we we left at 12.30 completely immersed, satisfied, and astonished that a film could be so non-condescending to its audience and still be a summer blockbuster.
This is real brain food coupled with summer blockbuster action that makes for an immensely satisfying experience - words spring up - labyrinthine, complex, high octane action - above all, Nolan gives us a real sense of cinema. Rather than some high end ideas and lots of CGI chucked together, we get instead a thorough exploration of some harder epistemological questions about what is reality coupled with stunning effects (that were made using mechanical sets mixed with CGI). On many levels this is one of the more satisfying films of the past decade.
The plot of a man who can enter people's subconscious, who, after losing his wife, is not allowed Stateside to see his children, is then offered the chance to see them again, if he helps a Japanese industrialist. He must be insert an idea into deep subconscious of the heir of a rival industrialist. This is played out through layer upon layer of dreams. The plot is convoluted -but not contrived - and concentration pays off : effort = reward.
We liked that fantasy is kept to a minimum - and that the dreams have more weight as they are based in reality.
All in all, the film looks gorgeous (And we saw it on the largest screen in Scandinavia in Malmö, Sweden), it requires that you concentrate, does not condescend, is fresh, smart, exciting, dark, complex, and fun - and above all, we deserve films this smart. Can i say that again? We want films this smart - really.
Not one person in the two and a half hours in the packed house of 600 went for a toilet break- and if that ain't recommendation enough I don't know what is....a great movie.