Inception: One of 2010's best.

Rating: 3/10 (20 July 2010)

Christopher Nolan's follow-up to 2008's megahit The Dark Knight was rumored as many different films that had been seen by no one. "This film is revolutionary!" "It sucks!" "It's dumb and pointless!" "It's amazing!"
And having finally seen Inception, without many expectations, I can tell you that if you were to see one film, for the remainder of the summer, you should make it Inception.
Inception has a lot going for it. Its cast works wonders, because every actor brings something fresh and new to the table. It never feels outdated, or irrelevant. It's original without being idiotic. It's intelligent without being implausible. It doesn't take its extremely layered plot too seriously, and there's one thing that really separates it from any other summer action flick: It requires a great deal of thought. You don't know where it's going next. Once it pulls you into its clutches, it takes you on a ride that is unlike anything you've seen on screen in years. Its ending will be debated, analyzed and picked apart by many film snobs across the world, and it's a film that doesn't just deserve, but requires multiple viewings. It's a hell of a lot to take in at once.
Now, in any film review, a reader would like to know what the piece is about. This one's plot is better left unsaid, because the first viewing is enough to leave the audience in utter awe. However, I'll do my best to at least give you an idea.
Leonardo DiCaprio outshines any of his previous works, playing Dom Cobb, a thief who is proficient in extraction (going into a subject's mind, during dreams, and stealing their ideas, and using them against them), who is embarking on one final job before he can retire, and go home for good. Instead of stealing a subjects dream, he and his team decide to do the opposite. Not to steal a dream, but to go into a person's subconscious and plant an idea.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, of (500) Days Of Summer fame, and Ellen Page, of Juno fame, Marion Cotillard, of Nine and La Vie En Rose greatness, Ken Watanabe, of The Last Samurai, Cillian Murphy, of indie film fame, and a few legends (Michael Caine and Tom Berenger) are the heart of this film. There is truly great acting all around. Everybody brings something new to the table. Each character is richly detailed, and multi-layered. Nobody is really who they say they are. Gordon-Levitt, Page and Cotillard are a few of my favorite actors of the current generation, who haven't had their "big breaks" quite yet. They've had a few parts that they're semi-well known for, and this film is a fabulous transition into mainstream cinema. That's because this is an art-house film that is financed by a major studio. That's the beauty of it. Insight, intelligence and uncanny originality are things you don't see in movies anymore. It's a breath of fresh air to see something as unique and interesting as this.
But, at the end of the day, it's Christopher Nolan's genius ideas, smart script, elegant direction, and masterful artistry that make this picture what it is. This is a film that I could picture the writer-director losing his mind over. It's his story, it's his game. He invents a world that you've never seen in any type of film before. It's reminiscent of The Matrix, and the early James Bond pictures. It creates its own metropolis, and its own rules. It breaks the rules of conventional American cinema. And thank god for that. Inception is one of the best films so far in 2010.