This complex, yet riveting sci-fi thriller marks an innovative achievement by Christopher Nolan

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2016)

Inception is far from your average science-fiction thrill ride. Furthermore, it is difficult to narrow it down to a single genre. Visionary director Christopher Nolan drives an execution that results in a film that fulfills the traits a part-heist film, part-science fiction, part-action flick, and part-mystery. Yes, it may sound like a daunting task to juggle multiple sub-genres at once; particularly in a way that effectively incorporates a smart, coherent story. From his experience in 2008's 'The Dark Knight', Christopher Nolan has proved more than capable of generating an intelligent science-fiction piece that excels on both a visual and cerebral style while taking on complex themes such as the subconsciousness of the human mind and the danger of modern technology. In exhilarating efforts, Nolan successfully forms a solid cast and pulls both them and us into a extraordinary world brought to the life by his innovative visual style. This stars Leonardo Dicaprio as Dominic Cobb, a professional thief with a mysterious ability to enter inside the minds of other individuals and stealing ideas from their memory by falling in a state of subconsciousness, an ability that's held him in high ranks of corporate espionage. In attempt to erase his criminal past, Cobb is hired by businessman Saito (played by Ken Watanabe) to pull off a seemingly impossible task: plant an idea inside someone's mind. Accompanied by his partner Arthur (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), conman Eames (played by Tom Hardy), local forger Yusuf (played by Dileep Rao), and college student Ariadne (played by Ellen Page); Cobb must pursue their target corporate officer Robert Fischer (played by Cillian Murphy) pull off the daunting task while battling against the haunting visions of his late wife Mal Cobb (played by Marion Cotillard).
Christopher Nolan is no stranger to challenging audiences on an cerebral level nor does he restrain from his dazzling visual grandeurs. This science-fiction mystery-action hybrid follows a complex plot that tackles on firm intellectual concepts of human psychology as it deals with characters engaging in a special ability to infiltrate the minds of others. The film's handling of this concept along with fear of technology playing a vital role results in an complicated cinematic piece with a heavy load on plot threads on it's shoulders. Ultimately, Christopher Nolan successfully operates on the narrative multiplex by exercising richly coherent storytelling and eye-popping action set pieces. Rather than mind hacking viewers with its intellectual complexity (similarly to 'Memento'), Nolan proceeds the plot with an effectively developed subplots, one emotionally concept involving the lead character coping with the death of his wife, the while strolling through a wide plethora of thrills. And Nolan leaves just enough room for some riveting action sequences energized with visually arresting chemistry. The biggest visual highlights are but not limited to the downtown environment folding into two, Joseph Gordon-Levitt sprawling through a hallway revolving at 360 degree circle, a slow-motion bus crash sequence along with a few "how'd they do that?" scenes. As with Christopher Nolan, he doesn't indulge in a style-over-substance vibe nor utter explosiveness but instead delivers a mix bag of suspense, action, and enthralling mystery. In final results, Nolan beautifully brings an gorgeously imaginative world to life.
Perhaps Christopher Nolan's only remote weakness in bringing his extraordinary world to life to forming more complex characters beyond our three-dimensional lead. Nonetheless, it's a pretty minor flaw. Suiting the lead role of the emotionally haunted Dominic Cobb is Leonardo Dicaprio who delivers solid emotionally gravitas and conviction with his performance. He stands greatly stands out among his likable charismatic ensemble not only in the acting department but partly due to his character being the the most emotionally involved character. Working along his side is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the lead character's accomplice who gets his fair share of both solid performance and visually stunning action participation, most notably the aforementioned hallway scene during the film's climax. Japanese actor Ken Watanabe bring a solid sense of sincerity as corporate executive Saito, a man with a mysterious personality mainly displayed during his first twenty minutes on screen. Tom Hardy gives a solid performance as conman Eames, but the manner in which his character is gives him nothing memorable to work with; the same can be interpreted for Dileep Rao as Yusuf. Academy-award nominated Ellen Page plays Ariadne, a young architect university student and she safely knock the ball out of the park. Sporting a sense of humanity and personality, Page suitably well amid the highly bankable cast. Cillian Murphy does fine balancing between a solid character and plot device. Lastly, there is the criminally underused Michael Caine, a frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator who doesn't a whole lot of screen time but gracefully makes the best his time on screen.
Inception is complex, yet deeply riveting science-fiction heist flick that successfully entertains and challenges viewers on both a visual and cerebral level. In the best of words, it marks an innovative turn not for visionary Christopher Nolan but for the science-fiction genre. Furthermore, it stands tall that as an extraordinary picture that unlike many films of the genre, is vastly original.