Inception is the best sci-fi movie since The Matrix

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2010)

Every so often a movie comes along which completely changes the notion of science-fiction. Avatar did it not too long ago, thanks to its special effects in the same vein as Star Wars. But often times effects have little, if nothing, to do with innovation. Blade Runner and Alien certainly aren't remembered mainly due to their special effects, and while The Matrix may have ushered in a new era of effects and action scenes, perhaps the strongest effect it had was altering the way we think of science fiction in films itself. Inception is one of these movies, transcending genres and becoming more than just a great sci-fi movie, and is the best sci-fi movie since The Matrix eleven years ago.
I went into Inception having avoided every trailer to keep it fresh. I was aware the movie was about dreams and directed by Christopher Nolan and that was already too much information. Having seen it, this doesn't really matter; no trailer will explain this film enough to ruin it. It creates its own universe with a distinct set of rules which are blended into the narrative naturally.
But what is it about anyways? Inception is essentially a heist movie, except instead of stealing anything real, the group we are concerned with steals ideas by infiltrating the subconscious of their dreaming targets. Except this time, they plan to plant an idea in the subconscious to bring down a company at the beckon of the Saito, head of the rival corporation.
The heist crew consists of a bunch of interesting characters, who despite not fitting any kind of "five man band" or any other cliché all feel fairly fleshed out, at least enough to care about the fate of each one. This may partly be due to the very likable cast, ranging from Juno herself Ellen Page to perhaps my favourite actor in the business right now, Joseph Gordon Levitt. Ken Wantanabe also joins in the fun as Saito, perhaps his first truly major role in a Western blockbuster since his Oscar nominated turn in The Last Samurai. Cillian Murphy tones down the creepiness he excels at as the target of the heist, and is actually quite sympathetic.
Of course, the emotional center of the film is Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb, an expert at the game wracked with guilt over what happened to his wife Mal. In most sci-fi movies, the "past guilt" storyline is ridiculously overplayed and usually a large distraction from the meat of the story. This may be the first time that this part of the story *is* the most intriguing (which is saying something given how damn intriguing the rest of the film really is). DiCaprio gives a great performance, as does Mario Cotillard as the wife, full of both spite and love. I will say no more, for this is the only part where spoilers matter, but its a very organic and touching storyline which will no doubt be widely discussed.
In these dreams, the subconscious presents itself as various persons who can become violent if they feel the dream is tampered with (or if the mind has been trained to defend itself). This is half for the sci-fi aspect and half for the sole purpose of giving us action scenes, but either way it works. Gun fights initially seem out of the place, but when the stakes for living in the dream are later raised (rather arbitrarily might I add, one of the few weakly reasoned plot points) they become rather harrowing. The better action sequences directly take advantage of the dreamscape, notably a zero-gravity sequence.
Effects are not the reason to see the movie (Avatar this ain't, plot structure is much more important), but regardless the movie is stunningly beautiful. Any movie about dreams will have some interesting cinematography and Inception certainly fits the bill. No hippy-esquire backdrops are used, making this much less of a stoner flick than it may well have been and all the better for it. And best of all: it all makes sense in context and never feels like it was done for solely for rule of cool.
Inception may well be Nolan's masterpiece, certainly capable of standing next to The Dark Knight and Memento. In ten years, it may become a classic held to the standards of The Matrix and Blade Runner. Some may find it too intellectual or prententious, but this will be the minority. Anyone with even a vague interest in sci-fi owes it to themselves to see this movie. Its the best science fiction film in years and a strong early contender for the best movie of 2010.