Christopher Nolan's Mind-Bending Action Film

Rating: 9/10 (10 February 2011)

Christopher Nolan continues to remind us he's more than just the best Batman director ever. After blowing audience minds with THE DARK KNIGHT (one of my favorite movies), Nolan wrote and directed this original project, a mind-bending action film that seems to have inspired endless conversation from those who've seen it. The film centers on a pair of expert thieves who have mastered the practice of breaking into a subject's mind to steal their secrets while they dream. Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a fugitive from the US and continues in hopes of eventually returning home to see his children. He is given hope when he and his partner are approached by businessman wealthy Saito (Watanabe) to perform inception...planting the seed of an idea in a target's mind. If Cobb and his team can pull this off, he is promised the chance to return to his children. Cobb assembles a team and a complex plan is put into motion to enter the dreams of the Saito's rival and plant the idea that he should dismantle his dying father's business empire. To do so, the team will need to infiltrate multiple levels of the subconscious and Dom will need to overcome the demons inhabiting his own mind.
2010 was a strong year for DiCaprio, first with Scorsese's awesome SHUTTER ISLAND and now INCEPTION. He does great here, as does Joseph Gordon-Levitt as his partner Arthur. Gordon-Levitt shows some real promise for action, especially in the zero-G hallway fight sequence. He makes up for the crappy bobble-head role as Cobra Commander in 2009's G.I. JOE. Nolan also employs previous acquaintances Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy and brings in the talented (and cute) Ellen Paige. The show-stealer here is Tom Hardy as the team's smarmy forger Eames. Nolan again proves he has a knack for assembling a great cast and, if the past is any indication, we can expect to see him collaborate with them in future projects. As good as his cast is, the real star of this film would be the special effects. There is some seriously great effects in this film as Nolan takes full advantage of the dreamscape. Paris folding in upon itself, zero-gravity combat, and some spectacular landscapes populating Limbo...it's no surprise this film cost $160 million, but it looks great.
You can tell Nolan put some serious time and thought into the complexity of the dreamscape inhabited by his characters. It's a blessing and a curse. It makes for a fuller, richer experience because the world seems legitimate with it's established rules, but the problem is we, as the audience, are subjected to extensive training to ensure we can follow what's going on. Ariadne (Page) is the team's new, inexperience architect. She acts as the receptor for all the new information the audience will need to follow the mission. The first half of the film is the team training Ariadne and explaining the physics behind the dream environments...the concept behind the "kicks", the roles of each team member, the theory behind the totems, etc. So a lot of the dialogue for the first half of the film is just exposition, and it feels like it. It's the film's one weakness, and once it's through we get to enjoy the action-packed descent into the subconscious. A lot of people seem to have complained that the film is confusing and they have a hard time understanding Nolan's world, but honestly it's not that complicated if you actually pay attention. This was one of the best films of 2010 and proof that Nolan is one of the great modern filmmakers.