Nolan Does It Again

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2010)

I'll go ahead and say that I am a huge Chris Nolan fan, but still went into this open-minded without letting my biases affect the viewing. Having said that and being as objectionable as possible...
Christopher Nolan has cemented himself as one of the best filmmakers out there with this one. This is a film that in the hands of a lesser director could have ended up a muddled mess, but instead ends up being a beautiful work of cinema.
Nolan's tight direction means that a twisty story ends up making pretty good sense (cries of "It's too difficult to understand!" are overrated). I'll abstain from giving plot details because it would basically mean having to explain the entire film to give context.
Beyond Nolan's direction and having this idea for a film to begin with, Team Nolan returns with perhaps their best work yet. The cinematography is fantastic, Hans Zimmer has one of his better scoring efforts, and the editing contributes to helping keep the story flowing and making sense despite it's somewhat-confusing nature. Props to all.
And finally, the terrific ensemble. I'm not a huge fan of Leonardo DiCaprio but respect his work, especially post-'Titanic'. Here he knocks it out of the park in the lead role, surrounded by a fantastic ensemble. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy are the two big standouts (Gordon-Levitt needs to be the lead in a film like this, he's that good an actor, and I know agree with other reviews I've read, Tom Hardy should be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig is done).
All in all, this film has redeemed the worst summer of film perhaps ever (sans this and 'Toy Story 3') and hopefully will send a message to Hollywood that the general public doesn't just want recycled garbage. Now let's all go see it again to reinforce that idea!