Nolan's Dream Is Real

Rating: 10/10 (16 September 2010)

It's funny how dreams work.
You fall asleep. Then, suddenly, you find yourself in some random place, and proceed to find yourself in situations that, once you've awoken and look back on them, didn't really make much sense. Yet, when you were in the dream, you never once questioned your surroundings (usually). It felt real. It never really crosses our mind how fascinating it is how dreams work. We all do it, but we never really think about it.
But Christopher Nolan did. He thought about it for nearly ten years. And out of those thoughts, an idea was born. An idea which he wove a story around, put on paper in the form of a script, and put on display for all the world to see. Inception is that display, and, like a great work of art, there is so much more to take in than what you see directly in front of you. But when you look deeper, it takes on a whole new appearance.
Inception is a mind-bending masterpiece that is as complex and intriguing as the subject it tackles. It is an astonishing achievement of a movie, and arguably Nolan's finest work to date. With this latest film, he once again steps up his game to a whole new level, surpasses all expectations and further proves why he is one of the most ambitious and skilled filmmakers working in the industry today.
Dom Cobb, played fabulously by Leonardo DiCaprio, is an extractor, a thief hired by corporate titans to invade the minds of their competitors via a device that allows people to share dreams, and steal ideas from their subconscious. But somewhere along the line, Cobb lost everything and was forced to become a fugitive. Then he is offered a job by a man named Saito, a job that requires him to invade the subject's mind and implant an idea, as opposed to stealing one. Should he succeed, he can get his life back. But if he fails, not only could he go to prison for the rest of his life, but also become trapped inside someone's subconscious for an undetermined amount of time.
At its core, Inception is a traditional heist movie. Cobb assembles his team of experts, a point man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an architect to design the dream worlds (Ellen Page), a forger to take on various disguises in the dream to fool the subject (Tom Hardy), and a chemist (Dileep Rao), to develop a sedative that will allow them to go deeper into the dream world than normal.
This is where all similarities with other heist thrillers end. You'd probably imagine, based on the plot, that Inception would require a fair amount of attention to be paid. It's actually not as complicated as it sounds. The mechanics and rules of the dream world are explained very well, and the fact that certain images and feelings are brought to light that we can all recall from our own dreams (not knowing how you got to where you are, feeling outside forces act on your body in reality that carry over into the dream) present this otherwise out-of-this-world story in a strangely familiar fashion.
Speaking of out-of-this-world, Inception is probably the grandest and most thrilling production you're likely to see all year. As you'd expect from Nolan and his crew from The Dark Knight, the film is technically brilliant, despite the fact that CG is hardly ever used. The action sequences are inventive and heart-pounding (prepare for the greatest scene to ever take place in a hotel hallway), the photography is beautiful, and the booming sound will knock your socks off. Then, there's the score. Call it bombastic or overkill if you must, but Hans Zimmer left me stunned with the soundtrack for Inception. It will have your adrenaline pumping one minute, your heart aching the next, and your eyes filling with tears after that. It's just beautiful.
As far as the acting goes, it's pretty much what you'd expect from such a top-notch cast. DiCaprio gives one of his strongest performances to date, and even though this is not a star-driven vehicle, he still impresses. Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows that he is one of the most promising rising talents in the industry, as well as Ellen Page, who thankfully has abandoned her smart-ass Juno persona and holds her own against an A-list cast. Lesser-known star Tom Hardy is one of the biggest badasses you'll see in a movie this year, and Marion Cotillard is haunting and mesmerizing as Cobb's deceased wife who often threatens to compromise their missions.
And finally, we have Christopher Nolan, who has basically taken a huge crap on most of Hollywood and proved why originality must never be overlooked in the process of making a film. It's amazing that there is so much going on in this movie at the same time, yet it never feels confusing, jumbled, or rushed. That's the sign of a true professional. He really has outdone himself with this one, in my opinion.
I find it shocking that there are people on here who treat this movie like it's Transformers or G.I. Joe, saying things like that it was made to make stupid people feel smarter. In my opinion, they're the stupid ones, and they can only feel superior by slamming the movies that either they for some reason did not like and everyone else did, or are too small-minded to understand and appreciate.
You won't find another movie like Inception out there. It's big, brainy, thrilling and ingeniously crafted. Far and away the best movie of the year, and one of the best sci-fi action movies ever made. And they didn't even need 3D to make people love it.