Christopher Nolan has created a masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2018)

SPOILERS!
The name Christopher Nolan has become synonymous with amazing Hollywood films in recent years. They see him as a man who can simply direct a movie that will entertain the masses. However, few truly understand his genius. On the contrary, Christopher Nolan knows how to portray abstract ideas on the big screen better than anyone. For the truth is that there are plenty of directors who can make an engaging movie that people will like. Christopher Nolan presents abstract ideas about dreams in the the movie "Inception" using beautiful cinematography and clear plot devices such as timing and layering that keep the audience engaged and thinking.
I think Inception is a great film for a few reasons: the cinematography is amazing, the cast is stellar, it is action packed, and it visualized abstract ideas. The cinematography captures the amazing settings such as that of the street of Paris, France and the beautiful arctic mountains of Kananaskis Canada. Christopher Nolan also took the time to shoot scenes using practical effects rather than using CGI. This makes the movie seem more realistic and interesting. He builds set with impossible shapes like the Penrose Steps and a stairwell loop. Using camera tricks and editing he is able to make the impossible look possible. Movie that rely on CGI rather practical effects provide a more realistic feel to a film that CGI, in all its 21st century glory, can't do justice.
The cast of Inception is a recipe for success. The cast consists of only the best actors that have a history for making good movies. Leonardo DiCaprio the main protagonist has been in good films since he was like 15 years old when he was in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" with Johnny Depp. Other consistently successful actors such as Joseph Gordan-Levvit, Ellen Page, and Tom Hardy play supporting characters throughout the film. The chemistry between them on top of the skillful acting results in a realistic movie that engulfs you into the plot of the movie.
The movie also has a lot of action in it. Inception is essentially a heist movie, but they are planting something in someone's mind instead of trying to steal something. There are guns, goons, car chases, and explosions. A recipe for any good action movie. The action in the plot keeps the story interesting and you never know what will happen next. The realism and griminess of shootouts in the rain and show the character of the film. The scenes are filmed together collectively and not jump cut every second which let the seems flow and become drawn out. This allows it not to feel shaky and stitched together. The action allows more audience members to enjoy the movie even if not in tune with the intellectual concepts of the film.
The last reason I believe Inception is one of the greatest movies of all time is because of the topic. The main plot-line of the movie involves dreams, an abstract idea, that becomes visualized in the film. Dreams are something that everyone can relate to. Dreams have been a controversial topic for many years. The ancient Egyptian Pharaohs believed they could predict the future and was a way to communicate with the Gods. We have learned much about the neural activity that actually control dreams in the twenty-first century, but dreams still have an unpredictable mystery that fascinates many with still more to be discovered about them. It shows the weirdness of dreams and give an explain of the psychology behind sharing dreams and the effects it can have.
Some people argue against the genius of "Inception." A point made against it is: "How come when they went to Limbo, it was in DiCaprio's mind?" First of all, it is explained in the movie that if you create enough dream layers you will fall into "Limbo." They state in the dialogue of the movie when a character gets shot that if he dies, they are so heavily sedated that he won't wake up, he will fall into Limbo. However, when he falls into Limbo he will be exposed to whatever was created in the Limbo state by anyone else who has been there before in their shared dream. This is only DiCaprio's character because he went there with his wife when exploring the power of shared dreaming. This person simply was not paying attention to the film and did not understand what was going on. His incompetence shouldn't be costing this movie a bad rating.