A movie that will be talked about for years to come.

Rating: 10/10 (16 July 2010)

I was at the midnight viewing and went in with really high hopes and expectations. Needless to say, I was not let down. I'll try and break the review up in important chunks so here goes:
Hans Zimmer really gave it his all in this one. Every note, and every heart thumping composition was not only brilliant on it's own, but came together in perfect unison with the mood and context of the movie to create a truly heart stopping experience that I dare say won't be repeated again for a long time to come.
One art form which I feel has been lost in films is pacing. This movie does this perfectly. I never once felt that the story moved too fast, or dragged on. I never felt moments of filler, and I never felt like important pieces were skipped over. Every frame of this movie has a purpose, Nolan saw to that. The balance between action and story was perfect. The best compliment I can give this is that the story served the action, and the action served the story. There wasn't a single wasted minute in the movie and it all came together to create an experience that truly left me as a viewer in awe.
I don't think there is much I need to say about the acting here. We all know what Leo is capable of, and he didn't disappoint. He might just get his Oscar with this one but I mustn't forget the rest of the cast. Joseph Gordon Levitt was brilliant, Ellen Paige gave us a great performance, and I was especially awed by Cillian Murphy's performance (he is the scarecrow from the Batman movies). My one small tripe is we didn't see too much of Michael Caine. One thing I will note is that Levit and Leo's performance really complimented each other well, I'd like to see them do more movies together.
Some will call the story story convoluted, some will call it a little confusing, and some will say Inception aims too high, aims to accomplish too much. I say, anyone with half a brain and a willingness to think will at the very least understand the movie at the top level, enough for the story to be engaging enough that they can enjoy the rest of the brilliance. The story really does go 2, 3, or even 4 levels. There is so much substance to the film that it'd take a few viewings to truly take it all in. I truly cared for Leo's character, and I truly wanted him to succeed.
The story is truly original, none like we've seen before and Nolan does an incredible job of recreating the sense of a dream. There is not much more I can say without spoiling anything I wouldn't want to spoil so I'll stop here.
Inception is one of the most original movies I've ever seen, and furthermore, truly accomplishes the goal it sets out from the beginning. That goal is to create an experience that has the perfect harmony of everything we love in movies; acting, action, suspense of reality, brilliant directing, and incredibly original story. One thing I wish to comment on, is the fact that the films climax lasted longer then any films climax I have ever seen. There is a moment, about an hour and half into the film that I think will be remembered for some time to come. The climax starts at that moment and we see about 4 different things happen at once, each taking different lengths of time (but in fact the same lengths of time), each more epic then the last. And this lasts about 45 minutes (or was it a second, maybe it was 3 minutes, or was it 20 minutes, could have been 50 years...).
This film is an easy 10/10 for me, but it will be more memorable then most 10/10 movies I have seen. Nolan truly aimed for the stars here, and the man not only hit those stars, but he created his own little universe which will be remembered for a long time to come.