A masterpiece on all levels

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2010)

As a reviewer, proclaiming that a film is the "best film you have ever seen" is a bold statement. After all, you risk losing all credibility with your reader, especially if you say some stupid sh*t like Twilight. Despite this, I'm gonna say it: Inception is the best film I have ever seen (with the exception of 2001: A Space Odyssey).
The film opens with Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) explaining the viral nature of an "idea" and how once formed, it spreads and grows within the human mind like wildfire. You see, Cobb is essentially a thief, an extractor- for-hire who enters a subject's subconscious through their dreams and steals their ideas for his employer. His most recent job, however, is not to steal an idea but instead implant one within the subject's mind – a supposedly impossible task known as inception.
At first glance, Inception may seem like your typical action film that borrows sci-fi elements to try and seem clever. The difference is, Inception actually is clever. Nolan takes a simple idea (dreams) and builds it into a narrative with more substance, depth and complexity than 99% of Hollywood films today. This, coupled with fleshed-out characters, breathtaking special effects and an outstanding score by Hans Zimmer, leaves you with a film that is not only extremely entertaining but also thought-provoking in its genuine intelligence.
However, where the film rises above all others is in its emotion. Films like Inception are usually so focused on the story that the characters are pushed into the background, leaving you with an engaging but ultimately heartless narrative. The emotional aspect of Inception, however, is not only its focus, but also the driving force that weaves the entire film together.
Following from his success with The Dark Knight, Nolan has once again outdone himself. Inception is a masterpiece on all levels – mesmerizing in its intellect, enthralling in its action and heartfelt in its emotion. This is about as perfect as any film can get.