A Great Movie- Often Misunderstood

Rating: 8/10 (26 July 2014)

To keep it short, sweet and to the point, let's not go over every painstaking detail of why this movie was clever and interesting. Christopher Nolan is a brilliant director, and I don't believe he received quite enough credit for this film. At face value, it's fairly easy to follow and allows the lowest common denominator to enjoy a story of love, loss, and dream-poking ridiculousness. Dig a bit deeper into it, and you see that Nolan had big things in mind. The most common argument to arise from this movie is that of whether or not the movie itself is a dream because of the scene at the end- the top bobbling but not falling. This is a smokescreen, as many have discussed before me. Listen to the children in the background- turn on the subtitles if you are unable to hear them clearly as it can be difficult with some sound systems. Once you hear their input (which I will not spoon-feed), you can then make some logical conclusions about the rest of the film. You can track the use (or in this case, misuse) of totems, the failure of continuity between "going a level up" when you are killed in a certain level of a dream, etc.
Stylistically, and creatively, this film was a feat and should be on lists for best film of the year- definitely not the most well written, directed, or acted film- but its clever storytelling and intentional misdirection is something of note. There are obvious mistakes in timing when arranging the kick on the bridge, as well as several other goofs along those lines, but if viewers hope to glean more from this film, you need only re-watch it and pay close attention (notice how in Mumbasa the attackers come at Cobb from out of nowhere similar to projections).
All in all, I very much enjoy this film, and believe it can be a fun watch for both the critical and casual viewer.