Completely Enthralling

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2010)

Imagine that moment during a great film, when your eyes flick away from the screen and for a moment you remember that it's all fiction, and then you spend a matter of seconds readjusting to the film. Imagine if that moment occurred several times every minute. You keep telling yourself that the dream is not real, and then you have to tell yourself the next dream is not real, and then you have to tell yourself the film isn't real, but it's so very easy to believe. Nolan expertly creates a story of 'pure creation', and the only disbelief he asks us to suspend is the technology to enter dreams. Everything else makes perfect sense. We are beautifully reminded throughout most of the film -SPOILER WARNING, VERY MILD SPOILER- that all the events happening are just the ten seconds it takes for a van to plummet off of a bridge, and even that is the blink of an eye to the real world. -SPOILERS OVER-
So what can I personally say about the film? The plot isn't what you think it will be. It's not the most epic story ever told. The plan itself is simple. However, the concept of inception, both in and out of the film, combined with the emotional journeys of the characters (or at least DiCaprio) and just that little spark of 99% move originality - something which hasn't been done in decades, at least to my knowledge - is what truly makes this film superb. I'll admit I was tempted to give it a 9, but I couldn't think of any flaw with it.
A definite must see, and then see again, then see again. I know Inception will claim its rightful place among the top 10, hopefully among the top 5. And personally, I'd put it right on the top.