A mind-bending masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2014)

A mind-bending masterpiece.
Christopher Nolan succeeds in weaving a finely tuned, multi-layered story into a (mostly) easy to understand instant classic.
I'm not quite sure any current director besides Chris Nolan could juggle material like this.
It's kind of hard to explain the plot in a few sentences, but I will try. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a dream thief who can extract info by entering ones dreams. Instead of extracting information, Cobb is given an opportunity to get his life back by planting an idea into somebody's mind. This is called Inception.
Inception cannot be put into any one category. At times it feels like a classic heist film, other times it feels like a noir film, and many times it feels like a blockbuster action flick. In the end, it has every ingredient of even the best sci-fi films.
In a cinematic climate that is populated with sequels, prequels, book adaptations, video game adaptations, comic book adaptations, remakes, reboots - it's a breath of fresh air to watch a film that is truly original.
Without giving too much away, Nolan is able to make the viewer question what is reality and what is a dream. Inception can almost be taken as a commentary on the current state of Hollywood.
Nolan proves that cinema can be a powerful experience and that a director has the ability to create worlds where the viewer can get lost in. If more directors shared this sentiment, the state of Hollywood would be much better off.
Inception is a near perfect film. One of my only complaints is a long, drawn out final sequence that starts to borderline on redundant. That being said, the film does a great job of switching between multiple dream worlds almost seamlessly.
Inception has everything you could want in a great film. It's original, it makes you think, it's full of action and it has a great cast. DiCaprio is great as usual. Ellen Page proves that she is one of Hollywood's best young female stars. Ken Watanabe gives a very subtle, yet powerful performance. Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to turn out solid performances. Then there are Christopher Nolan favorites Michael Caine & the criminally underused Cillian Murphy. The one name to watch is Tom Hardy who really stands out among such a name brand cast.
Inception is not for everybody. If you are a fan of sci-fi, you should have no trouble staying with the themes that are thrown at you during the course of the film. If you are somebody that is used to watching a more linear storyline, then you might struggle navigating the labyrinth that is Inception.
One thing that is for sure, once you leave that theater I can guarantee you've never seen a film quite like Inception.