And the Mind Makes a Movie.

Rating: Null/10 (23 July 2010)

One of the ultimate mind-twisters/mind-benders in cinematic history, "Inception" is a complete and total triumph of concept and creativity. Corporate raider Leonardo DiCaprio is able, with the help of others, to invade the subconscious of unaware persons in the hopes of stealing invaluable business data for competitors. However, a new assignment (via the mysterious Ken Watanabe) comes forth which calls for DiCaprio to actually plant an idea into the would-be victim's subconscious to make it appear that individual came up with the concept originally himself. In this circumstance the victim is Cillian Murphy (who is haunted by his relationship, or lack thereof, with late father Pete Postlethwaite) as DiCaprio and his team (led by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page) attempt to perform what the movie makes appear to be highly dangerous and nearly impossible to pull off successfully. Subsequently, there are dilemmas aplenty with the most major one being DiCaprio's memories of late wife Marion Cotillard which seem to constantly pop-up and consume his dream-time missions. Ultimately, the film's journey through the mind will subsequently be an excursion into the human heart, spirit, and soul as well via dreams within dreams within dreams (and possibly even more dreams within dreams). Just as writer/director Christopher Nolan (I think arguably the finest film-maker in the world today) paid homage to modern film noir directors Martin Scorsese and Michael Mann with the stunning "The Dark Knight" back in 2008, he does the same to more great movie men like Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Terrence Malick, and David Lynch with "Inception". Shades of "2001: A Space Odyssey" are the easiest and most apparent comparisons which can be ascertained as Nolan does the near-impossible balancing act of keeping the audience at an arm's length while simultaneously pulling them into the story from the outset and keeping us on the edges of our seats. Sure, the special effects are monumental along with the technical aspects of set design, editing, and cinematography, but these elements are not going to be the reasons why "Inception" will have long-lasting staying power. The points of directing, vision, and screen writing (along with vastly under-rated performances from the aforementioned players all the way down to character roles for Tom Berenger and Michael Caine) will destine "Inception" to be one of those movies which will never lose its luster or glitter. One of the finest films ever conceived. 5 stars out of 5.