A true cinematic experience...

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2010)

Christopher Nolan has achieved something remarkable here.
A summer blockbuster action/thriller that isn't a patchwork of CGI effects held together by a tenuous plot allied to insubstantial character development like so many other offerings we've had to endure this year.
It's not a tired sequel, a merchandise tie-in or a TV series spin-off.
Instead, it's a stunningly refreshing vision of the journey into the subconscious. True, it's been done before but never like this.
Alternative reality / mind journey films (Matrix, Total Recall, eXistenZ, Dark City etc.) have explored this area but not to the same effect. Obviously, it doesn't appeal to everyone but even the naysayers can't deny that, at times, the film contains some of the most exhilarating action sequences ever seen.
To be honest, the Matrix left me cold but Inception has real emotional depth.
Here's the paradox. It succeeds partly because it's both the apotheosis and antithesis of the summer movie. It engages, thrills, intrigues, immerses and requires the viewer to invest in some cerebral gymnastics. Ultimately, it's such a resounding success because it rewards the audience for staying with it, for buying into the concept.
The pay-off is immense.
It's a 'must see' movie and it restores your faith in what cinema can achieve. If cinema it exists to challenge you, to take you on a journey and create a sense of wonder, then this is cinema in its most awe-inspiring form.
You emerge from the theatre with the feeling that you've just been somewhere extraordinary and it will live with you for days afterwards.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?" Essential viewing.