Inception is an entertaining film; Inception is not masterpiece.

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2010)

From the moment that Spielberg scared millions of people from swimming in the ocean: the blockbuster has become Hollywood's bread and butter. From the late 70's to the new millennium, most of Hollywood's theatrical releases-- primarily caters to the fanboy/adolescent audience. Gone are the days, that the adult audience is the target demographic for Hollywood; nowadays-- for the most part-- adult theme films are confined to the independent and to the foreign film scene. The absence of adult oriented blockbusters, usually means that most of the mainstream films are either mindless entertainment and/or do not dare venturing in material that is provocative, controversial, or profound.
Despite the dominance of low brow blockbusters once in awhile, emerge blockbusters that blur the line between the blockbuster and the art house. Films such as Children of Men, Collateral, and Zodiac are adult, art house films with both a bigger budget and a more widespread theatrical release.
Ever since making an impact in film festivals with Following and primarily with Memento, Christopher Nolan has been able to work in the Hollywood system, while still managing to churn out films that are aim at an adult audience. Does Inception continue Nolan's trend of mixing the art house with the blockbuster? Well not really. "Not really"? Is the answer yes or no? Inception's major weakness is that it leans more towards the blockbuster side than the art house side. Yes, the film has an unorthodox structure and has creative, original sequences. Yet, it leans more towards the blockbuster-- due to its inability to both venture and dwell on the story's darker aspects and on being subtle when addressing its rules. In other words, Inception is too afraid of offending a large segment of the audience; the film spends too much time with exposition and with bombastic, action sequences than with dealing with the protagonist's existential crisis and with the philosophical implications of both the technology and the moral practice surrounding dream espionage and voyeurism.
It does not mean that film should be avoided. On the contrary, the film is a tour de force blockbuster. The acting is great, especially Tom Hardy: who overshadows the other actors. Wally Pfister continues his trend of delivering a recognizable, gorgeous cinematography. Hans Zimmer's score is fantasticalthough, the film could have a deliver a better sound design (on many occasions, it is difficult to discern the dialogue). Unlike The Dark Knight, most of the action sequences are top class; the hotel, action sequence is mind-blowing. Overall, it is a well made blockbuster-- but it is not a masterpiece, and therefore, nowhere near the top of Nolan's filmography.
Inception's problem is not whether it is good or bad; Inception's problem is that it could have been a masterpiece. Instead of simply being on par with The Matrix, Inception had the potential of being Crime and Punishment in the dream world.