An intelligent, thrilling ride that immerses you from start to finish, albeit with some flaws.

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2010)

Since IMDb limits me to 1000 Characters, please read the full review at:
http:// critical-eruditass.blogspot.com/2010/07/inception-2010-usa_28.html
And about the ratings: http://critical-eruditass.blogspot.com/p/about-blog.html
Inception Review, with ROT13 spoilers. This is a movie you don't want to know anything about before watching.
Characters: 1
Screenplay: 4
Cinematography: 2
Emotional: 3
Overall: 3.5
Although not without its flaws, the premise and execution stands out as an epic. To draw unnecessary comparisons, it had Taken's pacing (not action scenes) and excitement with Matrix's imagination and depth, combined with good directing and immersion. The film had bits of action, suspense, drama, and of course thrills while touching on worthwhile subjects like love, family, meta-thought, and the evil of that men do. It does a great job of getting the viewer invested in the outcome of the movie.
Its weaknesses include mostly flat characters, unrealized ambition, unimaginative action scenes and a bit of hand-waving.
I'd think it was a competent release. Close to excellent, but not quite. An intelligent, thrilling ride that immerses you from start to finish with some flaws.
Characters: One of Inception's weak points is its characters. Amongst the one-dimensional characters, weak character development, and minimal character exploration is the character-driven story. I never was able to identify with characters or care fare about their outcomes.
The story revolves around the classic dark and mysterious protagonist. To me, it is a slight disappointment that the other characters remain within the shadows. It does keep the movie focused and from getting too complex, as well as give headway to one interesting interpretation.
DiCaprio does -okay- with the only role requiring strong acting. I would've liked to see more emotion in him, given what he was dealing with. You could attribute the other parts of his personality being played by his projections. The rest of cast does a good job of filling in their respective characters. I really wanted to see bigger shoes to fill for Page, who did feel a bit miss-cast.
Screenplay: A smashing success. This is what made this movie such a big hit across the board. The viewer is thrown into the action, and runs along with the movie. From the opening scene, the film establishes that you will have the pleasure observing something special, grandiose, and unique. It succeeds in maintaining that level of novelty throughout the majority of the film. The last hour of the film is complex and beautifully done. And there are little gems of depth are sprinkled throughout.
However, there is no downtime to process, and if you get caught up on the psychological insights, it can be a little hard to digest. The pacing could have used a bit more variety. There are points where it felt the story was being pushed along. For example, Cobb and his team constantly seemed to jump around all over the world. Also, due to the narrow focus of the film, there world of Inception seems a small and obscure and is juxtaposed against the grandiose premise.
Overall, plot was very pleasingly intricate, with a twist-and-turn, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat type feel. The beauty of the screenplay is its symbolism and the open interpretation of the story. There are red herrings placed all throughout. Analysts and film buffs can be gluttons for discussion. For example, here is a list of theories: Cinematography: The world of Inception is captured quite well. This film was very good at drawing me in for hours and transporting me to an alternative world. The viewers, having been explained parts of the concept, get to both see and feel premise and rules of the world around them. Suspension of disbelief becomes natural. The music flows wonderfully, save the never-ending climatic music at the end.
That said, in the aftermath, I was left wanting more imagination in a dream movie. The premise was novel, but the sets, action/fight/chase scenes could have been much more.
Emotional: Despite the weak characters, Inception had everyone invested in the outcome of the story. Why? It felt so epic, with nuggets of insight, imaginative expansion on what we experience every day, and pacing.
It set out to be very ambitious and deep, but the ideas are never developed and aspects remain unexplained. I didn't care about what happened for most of the characters and whether or not their lives were at stake. I just liked watching it because it was well put together.