Intriguing concept, average execution.

Rating: 7/10 (4 May 2011)

I wanted to like this film. Watching it a year after release, and hearing the hype surrounding the film I expected a guaranteed hit. And besides, I've been a fan of Nolan's films so it was a sure thing.
Inception is not a "bad" film buy any measure, it has a decent score, impressive effects and overall looks glossy. But so does a Michael Bay film, and the only thing differentiating these two films is that Inception was marketed as a "thinking" film. A complicated, thought-provoking science-fiction film.
I love the concept of the film, particularly lucid dreaming and layers of consciousness but this idea just didn't translate well in the film. Plenty of films have done this better, namely Tarsem Singh's masterpiece "The Cell". Inception is wrapped around a rather mundane plot featuring a heist of a businessman. Little explanation is given for this, and instead Nolan uses this as a frame to hang as many layers of "complexity" and reality-shifting that he can. When you peel back the fancy dream-ideas all you are left with is a rather dismal heist movie.
Much time in the film is granted towards explaining the concepts of extraction and inception, so much so that any purpose, emotion or any other motives are never discussed. Apart from the expansion of Cobb's character with his family story, the other characters (whilst well acted) are just playing alongside. We have no idea who they are, why they are helping Cobb and Nolan simply does not develop the characters enough. You simply don't care for them, neither do you care if Cobb is successful or not, as nothing is really at stake for anyone.
The films saving grace for me is probably the visuals. I have always been a huge fan of M.C. Escher, who's work obviously inspired some parts of Inception. However, the ideas of zero gravity, endless staircases and folding cities have been done before, coupled with far more engaging plots, ala "Dark City", "Metropolis", and even "Labyrinth".
To summarise, the film is perfectly watchable, it rattles along at a fast pace and certainly won't leave you bored. But in terms of being a great film, Nolan's "Memento" is a far more accomplished and complete work. As a summer blockbuster it fulfilled its purpose, but top 10 film of all time it is not.