Overrated, way too overrated.

Rating: 4/10 (2 September 2010)

This is by far my most disappointing movie experience in years. Its not really that its that bad. I would probably have given it 7 stars if it wasn't for the unbelievable 9.1 average, which sent me to the theater with such high expectations.
First of all, I have to get this of my chest: ITS NOT THAT ORIGINAL! In 1998 a by-now-forgotten film by the title of Dark City was released, with a strikingly similar premise, but with better writing, a tighter plot and a fraction of the budget of this monstrosity. Do yourself a favor, watch it.
Back to Inception: The casting is good, the performances vary between average to good, and in general they more or less work together. But the characters lack any real depth, the dialog is mediocre and the pervasive pseudo-science conversations are down-right silly.
Visually its stunning, ground-breaking, with more special effects than you could ever wish for, but quite often pointless. The same goes for the action sequences, amazing yes, but often out of place and you can't shake the feeling that they were forced into the plot: OK guys, its been three minutes since something exploded or someone used a grenade launcher, stuff an action scene in here.
Worst of all: the premise of the film is ridiculous but there is nothing that makes it believable. This, I think, is the mark of a great Sci-Fi flick: you completely buy into the premise no matter how ridiculous it is. Inception fails.
Does it have better entertainment value/ is it a better film than:
Shutter Island: No, but comes close/ No, doesn't even come close
District 9: No, D9 is 3 times more fun/ No, God No, in what dreamworld?
Clash of the Titans: Yes/ Yes
The A-Team: About the same/ Yes, its better than The A-Team
Avatar: No/ No
Finally, Dark City: bang-for-buck, Yes/ No, even though Dark City has a weaker cast its still the better movie,