Not as clever as it likes to think

Rating: 1/10 (1 November 2010)

I must admit I was really looking forward to this film but as with most of the big blockbusters in recent years it was a rather overrated experience. A good cast and some good acting but an overly complicated script and convoluted way of going about stuff using ideas from a lot of decent films that have gone before. The argument that if you don't like it you are too dumb to understand it does not wash as it's easy enough to understand what's going on but why it's going on does not make that much sense. One example is that for no sensible reason Leo is involved in a domestic situation that results in his wife's death and now seems to be worldwide public enemy number one?
We have the usual assembling of an elite team to go in and carry out the usual impossible mission with consequences that are unknown to most of the team members that will impact on their success or not. Well that's original.
Chucking sci-fi babble into a story does not always enhance the story and most of the inception idea tech talk is boring and nonsensical.
The 'shock' ending is predictable and has been signposted since pretty much the start of the film which was overlong and overcomplicated and not at all as intelligent as it was made out to be. Like Shutter Island Leo is once again involved in a film that promises a lot but delivers not a great deal. Some spectacular sets and nice effects cannot cover up an ordinary fun bit of sci-fi nonsense passed off as genius. Like Avatar before it thinking it is some kind of genre changing piece of film when its just a half decent bit of entertainment that will linger with an audience until they get to the car park of KFC.
Thought provoking cinema seems destined to be left behind for this kind of multi layered pseudo sci-fi babble which looks pretty but is not as clever as it likes to think.