ehhhhh

Rating: 5/10 (30 November 2013)

The first time I watched this movie, I turned it off about 15 minutes into it. I never even reviewed it or gave it any stars because I didn't think it would be fair to review a movie I hadn't seen.
I turned it off because I thought it was full of nothing but weird, pointless action sequences that fell back on the cliché deux-ex-machina: "And they woke up, and it was all a dream."
After taking the time to watch it (all two and a half hours), I now feel I can give it a review.
I'm giving it five stars because it's not a bad movie, but it's not a great movie either. I can think of several ways this movie can be improved:
1. Starting off from the viewpoint of someone who is just beginning to understand the dream tech. The new architect - whatshername (sorry, bad with names) - is a great choice. She is practically the only strong female character in this movie, so having it from her point of view would help the female audience feel more connected to the storyline in a movie full of male characters.
2. Set clear boundaries. One reason the Matrix had universal appeal and this movie doesn't, is because it had clear boundaries about what the Matrix is and what it is not. Through the eyes of Neo, the audience could learn what was real and what was simulation and how the technology worked. Inception, on the other hand, thrusts the viewer into scene after scene of dreams within dreams within a futuristic reality with no understanding of what is going on or how it is working. Only through bits and pieces can the audience deduce how things work.
3. The technology is ridiculous. Sorry but it is. The whole "needle in the arm" seems like a cop out. Why not put some effort into it, like make it something that looks like an mp3 player that can hook up to the briefcase thingy to share dreams - the earbuds could be acoustics that translate into brainwaves via sound to receive and transmit dream data. Now THAT would make it more relatable to the audience. Most everyone has had a walkman, a portable cd player or an mp3 player.
4. The storyline needs more than one movie. It is incredibly complex and could have been told in at least two movies, taking time so the audience can fully appreciate the concept of the movie and the main character's struggle with his wife's death.
Inception is smart and unique and it's a shame that not enough effort went into making it more approachable to the average person. This could have easily rivaled the Matrix as a trilogy, and given people a lot more to talk about than to argue about who is smarter than who based on if they liked a movie or not. Done right, it could have opened an entire dialog about human perception instead.