I quibble, but this is a really good film for the alert layman

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2010)

*******Continuous Spoiler Alerts ***********
This review is intended ONLY for people who have seen the film once.
If you have not seen the film, please see the film and do not read any reviews or watch the trailer and literally close your eyes / turn off the TV if the trailer comes on. The less you know, the better.
This is a good film.
I saw the ending coming. But the "13th Floor" is a better version of the same "topic", but my guess is that non-computer people could not understand the concept of a VM (a virtual machine), which I have dealt with as a computer programmer since (gasp) 1975.
As bebop987 said, "If you liked Nolan's previous films "Memento",  you will love Inception". However, I disagree with that reviewer who goes on to say "Deep down this film is about forgiveness and letting go but also has a great scifi sheen that never takes that idea away." I feel it is about forgiveness of others and of self, but there are simplicities / dumbing down of the concept compared to "13th floor".
For some reason, I'm getting to dislike Joseph Gordon-Levitt, perhaps because of a string of movies he did several years ago that were the same character re-packaged. But truly, that's minor (Sorry JGL).
I like the idea of recruitment of a student Ariadne (Page) who takes it up a notch (Bam, to quote the Chef Emeril Lagasse, and does so a little like Keanu Reeves in "Matrix" (part 1 in 1999). However, Matrix 1 is a better movie than this, in that it is so immersive, that in Matrix 1, you feel as if you may have the powers to make things bend and walk through traffic (scary, but literally true when a friend and I saw the movie in the same cinema).
I also agree (word for word) with tmldtt who says: "The story is tense, deep and disturbing. The tension is taut and it hardly ever slackens. The dreams within dreams within dreams concept is complex to say the least. It requires complete attention from the viewer if he wants to decipher every little puzzle the movie throws. The acting is top-notch." And I agree with mblueyesm who writes "And I think it does NOT stop spinning in the end!... Brilliant!!"
However, I start my review with the title "this is a really good film for the alert layman", and add to it (so I don't spoil it for others), for the psychologists/psychiatrists who listen to dreams: I hope you doc's see it before reading anything about it.
Let me go back to "The 13th Floor (1999)". In it, there is a dream within a dream. But the ending has another level dream: essentially the same story as Inception, but using dreams (which everyone has) instead of computers and virtual machines which perhaps 1-5% of the population has. And that's the difference: director Nolan took a hot concept, and popularized it in a subtle and graceful way. Kudos, Mr. Nolan. But, sadly, the trailers let me see the key parts and the ending even though I studiously (and seriously) avoided all mentions of Inception before seeing it on opening weekend (I was too tired to see the movie on Fri, 7/16/2010 – and was scared to see it under the influence of anything for fear of getting nightmares).
TMI: Too Much Information: I happen to be one of those people who have realistic controlled dreams, known as "lucid dreaming." Here are two definitions of Lucid Dreaming:
1. 'Lucid dreaming is more than just controlled dreams' ... 'Many people report "their first lucid dream was the most wonderful experience of their lives" (LaBerge: 1997). '
serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1759
2. "A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he or she is dreaming. A lucid dreamer can actively participate in and manipulate imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can seem extremely real and vivid, depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.
The term was coined by the Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik van Eeden (1860–1932)."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream
In lucid dreams (I'm speaking about mine), I can fly away when in danger, and recognize (rarely) that I'm in a dream. I sometimes think: "wow, I'm flying away, so this must be a dream". As a kid, I wanted to fly: just like The Pee-wee Herman Show (1981). Gee, I'm dating myself with a 29 year old film reference. A "Hot in Cleveland" Cougar dates a guy 15 years younger, and she mentions a TV show (I believe), the younger guy says "I love re-runs" when she (and I) clearly saw it when it came out.
So, given my lucid dreaming, I could, if the film were reality,
1) totally adapt to the Inception world view,
2a) sadly could see myself addicted to this sleep drug (as poor Michael Jackson was with propofol)
2b) Leonardo's character was with not having REM sleep--driving you mad, a nice touch from Nolan -- also: StarTrek's episode "Night Terrors" (1991).
3) the poor 12 individuals druggist's basement.
A Playboy scifi story (circa 1960's) has a box connected to the brain's pleasure center which people easily bypass the safety feature & have it on continuously for days, dying in their chairs, with the sweet smell of their rotting flesh from not having gotten up to eat. I sure hope that is not the future of mankind. Addictive and forces you into a lifestyle that in a sense enslaves you: hopefully an illegal effect.
So, Director/writer Nolan did a great job combining science, fears, dreams, elaborate set designs, and computer theory / simulations (using a simulation to eliminate gravity and laws of physics, which is now standard, but is beyond what I can do on a computer).