Very good but over-rated

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2010)

I'm the type of guy who usually loves this type of sci-fi movie with far-out concepts, especially if it involves dreams. After finally being able to watch Inception, I must admit I fall somewhere "in-between" in my appreciation of this film. In-between best movie ever and horrible illogical mess but strongly leaning towards the positive side. The trailer, for once, doesn't tell you much but certainly wets your appetite. Avoiding spoilers, "Inception" refers to the concept of planting an idea deep into the subconscious of a person through dreams. A team of specialists usually extract secret informations from minds but doing an "inception" is much riskier because apparently people always know where they get their ideas from (really ?!). While the "architect" of the team builds a believable landscape (so the dreamer doesn't notice he's dreaming), the others infiltrate and try to influence the dreamer for their own purposes. You would expect flights of fancy and crazy visuals from dreams but it's fairly restrained here (except for the training of a new architect and one of the ending dream layers with crumbling buildings). It is explained by the fact that the dream must remain realistic to the target otherwise projections of his subconscious will attack the intruders and/or he will realize he is dreaming.
So despite the fact I would have enjoyed more imagination in the dreamscapes (as hinted at in the wondrous architect's training), I understand why they were fairly normal. I could not help but feel a bit disappointed by that though. The action scenes were frenetic and exciting with particular praise going to the anti-gravity fight scene in the hotel. This is a great anthology moment if I ever saw one. Cinematographically, this is great with director Nolan going from spectacular bird's eye city views to closed-in face shots to show the emotions with a whole variety of angles between the extremes. The shooting is masterful. We're never really lost in the action except perhaps when the characters look too much alike in the snowy dream layer. Speaking of which, this part felt very much like a James Bond movie and I kept thinking the "hero" was too good to be true. Then again, we're in a dream and who knows how much training the operatives have... I was also bugged by the fact that rules were explained for the dream layers and yet some seemed to have been ignored. I know it's "dream logic" but if you intentionally explain them, mostly stick to them so we can continue suspending disbelief. An example of this is how the guy in the hotel is supposed to have 2 minutes left until something has to happen, yet if you combine his sequences (because it alternates between 3 different stories/dream layers at that point), it's way more than the time alloted. For more, see the list of goofs on the main IMDb page (after watching the movie).
Inception is praised as being complex and smart. Compared to the majority of other summer blockbusters, it certainly is. In the absolute though, I don't think it's the most brilliant or completely logically coherent movie out there. The base concept is better than the actual execution, which to be fair is pretty good. The interesting plot is certainly understandable for the majority of normal people so perhaps it makes them feel smart (therefore good about themselves). People who don't like it as much as they do, or point out logical flaws, are therefore not as "smart" as they are or simply "don't get it". It sometimes feels to me as if there was a mass "inception" (from peer pressure, the director's reputation or marketing?), planting the idea that this movie is amazing before even watching it and that if you're not totally enthusiastic about it, there's something wrong with you. I think people should be allowed to fall somewhere in-between. Enjoying it very much, recognizing its many qualities, but not seeing it as one of the best movies ever done (top 5 currently on IMDb is ridiculous). Why ? Because if you really think about it, I'm sure you've seen many movies that had a much more powerful emotional impact on you.
Rating : 7 out of 10 (very good)