The auteur of confusion...with apologies to James Cameron...(and Hindu mythology)

Rating: 3/10 (4 February 2011)

In my opinion the IMDb review by Carl_Tait from New York, NY is about the best summation of the film. A great concept but lost in translation. And to think Mr. Nolan wrote the story for "Inception"!!! I include "Inception" among the film genre that have come to be known as "mind**ck" films. I don't agree with every list of films characterized thus on the web but this is an unmistakable genre. And "Inception" definitely belongs there.
I suspect there are a lot of viewers out there who see a complex but convoluted film and find it gripping because BAM!! it hits them so hard on the head that they dare not concede they don't understand it because they are afraid someone will find out that they didn't :-) But there are a number of IMDb reviewers who have given "Inception" 10/10 or close to that rating. The way these reviewers have articulated their reasoning is definitely more comprehensible and cogent than the film is in my opinion. I wish Mr. Nolan had consulted them before making the film as I am sure they could bring some clarity to the mix.
To my mind "Inception" has a convoluted and twisted narrative (if there is one) which *seems* multi-layered, but actually throws just about everything it can into the mix, never mind the sink, it throws in even the kitchen itself. I will say that the CGI effects are pretty amazing. But the film is overpopulated with characters and it was hard to figure out why more than half of them were there.
And as another reviewer commented, what the heck are the guns and explosions doing in a film based on a shared dream paradigm.
"Inception" gave me no reason to care for any of the characters, excepting to some degree Ellen Page's character Ariadne. I had no reason to care for Marion Cotillard's character Mal, and found her portrayal somewhat of a female stereotype playing the neurotic unhinged foil.
I am sure Mr. Nolan is an excellent film maker who has definitely come into his own as far as the box office is concerned. But so far the only films he has done that I have truly admired are "Insomnia" and "Batman Begins". Before "Batman Begins" I was never a fan of any of the Batman films.
While watching "Inception" there was many a time that I felt like stopping and watching something else but gave it the benefit of doubt that the film might pick-up. Sorry to say it never did.
I do hope Mr.Nolan gives a little more attention to maintaining a narrative and character development in his films rather than just bombarding us with complexity (or more accurately confusion!) and CGI effects.
All I can say is that "Inception" is exhausting viewing and represents complexity for the sake of complexity or something like that.....