Shutter Island II, in a way - and a bit too much bang for my money

Rating: 7/10 (28 July 2010)

OK, there are many raves as to how original 'Inception' is, and it's definitely to be welcomed that a film which works with so many layers should be such a success. And it's more entertaining than 'Prince of Persia', for sure. My fun was spoiled, however, by two factors.
One, DiCaprio's role is so similar to the character he played in 'Shutter Island' that, if you know the film, you may get a good idea what's going on before the main plot has even started rolling. That could have been avoided by not using the same metaphors for remembrance (the children, the wife), but I guess it's just a coincidence. My boyfriend, with whom I've seen this and who hasn't seen 'Shutter Island', took some more time to figure out the plot, so I guess it does make a difference if you know that film or not.
Two, there's too much kaboom in 'Inception' for filler, as in most of Nolan's other films since 'Memento'. That may be just me getting old, but when a film at first tries to intrigue me with a multi-layered concept, and then bangs away both visually and soundtrack-wise to distort your attention from any plot holes there may be, it's a bit of a let-down. 'Matrix' (well, the first one) worked with its own incoherences, and it still stands as a standard of the genre; I doubt that 'Inception' may, as time passes, outrank it, because repeat viewings of stretched-out gunfire and bomb blasts tend to equal each other in retrospect; it's the engaging moments that create a masterpiece - like Morpheus' breaking of the chains in 'Matrix', or Rutger Hauer's comment that memories vanish 'like tears in rain' in 'Blade Runner'. All the interesting metaphysical talk in 'Inception', as intriguing as it may be, cannot take root in my mind, as there's no character, no emotion, no pain to connect it to.
Still, this is an entertaining way to spend an evening to be sure. Just don't expect a life-changing epiphany of sorts, as has been suggested elsewhere.