Whether this is all just a dream or reality, Inception is the Hershey's of eye candy

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2010)

Back in the 7th grade, a creative writing teacher repeatedly told the entire class that in storytelling, never ever ever ever ever end the story with "it was all a dream." The best example she gave us was the television show Dallas, which was ultimately killed ratings-wise after pulling the feat. That being said, it was very hard to not think about this rule of thumb when Inception starts. Inception is a crazy mind-bending, heart-pounding, and spine-tingling thriller that boggles the mind, tests your willpower, and keeps you one step behind. Keeping up is an impossibility, the images presented are some of the craziest in recent memory, and the overall experience was a very tense trip.
This was the cleverest sci-fi flick since the severely underrated Minority Report years ago. There is one major difference between the nearly-flawless Minority Report and the oh-so-close-to-flawless Inception: the subplot. While both movies have their main characters trying to relinquish past personal demons, Minority Report molds it into the main storyline without issue; whereas Inception's subplot deters away from the fun and mayhem of the main conflict. My interest level was waning on the subplot, while remaining at the maximum during the heist. Despite that setback, Inception is a sinister movie that is worthy of a couple viewings.
Inception is an original script by Christopher Nolan, who has proved many times before he can deliver in the screen writing department. It concerns a fugitive from the United States (Leonardo DiCaprio) that specializes in stealing ideas from people's dreams. He assembles a crew for his toughest mission yet, instead of stealing ideas, actually implementing one into the mind of a person. This plot description is very basic, because part of the mystique and fun of Inception is engaging yourself in the trip of a storyline as it goes through different twists and turns. The dialogue is strong, the story is intense and deep, and the rules about dreams and how to survive in them are well-implemented.
Just like in The Matrix and Minority Report, Inception's rules about the universe the characters are engaged in are all established and explained quickly in the first act. In a nice move, the deeper and more confusing of the rules are explained as the movie progresses further; in a much more successful manner than the elongated conversations in the Matrix trilogy (especially the second installment). And, just like in the two examples, the visuals strongly compliment the story and all its rules. Inception is easily one of the most visually striking and impressive movies of the 21st century, by far surpassing that of Avatar. Cities are built and destroyed, a hotel loses all evidence of gravity and physics, and entire buildings crumble like Legos. The best part of this movie is easily all the chaos that you get to see. I strongly admire Nolan's attempts to use the least amount of CGI possible. And in this movie (just like The Dark Knight—his previous movie), the lack of CGI helps the overall look.
The cast of actors and actresses definitely help the movie as well. That being said, only DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard have to truly flex the acting muscles, while the rest of the cast adds style, sass, humor, and realism to the experience. Directing them with precision and attention to detail is the screenwriter himself Christopher Nolan. He directs this far better than his Batman movies, and delivers his best directing work since the underrated Insomnia. He handles his shots carefully, and does a great job engulfing the viewers in beautiful scenery. And the hotel sequence is one of the most unique action sequences ever composed. It left the audience silently begging for more.
So what could possibly be wrong with the movie? Great production value, great script, deep material, grand action sequences, good acting, and let's not forget the strong musical score of Hans Zimmer. The issue comes with the pacing and the editing of the movie. The first quarter of Inception runs rather slow and lacks that first excellent suspenseful piece that was in The Matrix and Minority Report (The opening encounter with Agent Smith and the first arrest scene, respectively). Then there is one of the subplots, which while it is important to the storyline, really drags down and breaks the pacing of Inception. The main character's conflict wasn't fleshed-out very well, nor was it that interesting. It's similar to The Matrix's totally unnecessary romantic sequences---necessary to plot, but highly inferior to the rest of the movie.
Bottom Line: Removing the essential but rather bland subplot involving our main character, Inception is a purely majestic sci-fi flick that will boggle the mind, test your imagination, and satisfy your craving for something original to watch in the summer. The entire production value was excellent, from the musical score to the directing to the cinematography. I keep mentioning The Matrix and Minority Report because those two movies were the last two times a science fiction movie absolutely blew me away—before this one of course. Inception will entertain, confuse, and mentally defeat you (in the first viewing at least), but it's just a few knots below the two examples in terms of overall quality.
Don't let that bring you down though, because Inception must be watched on the big screen in the best quality screen imaginable. Without the usual heavy use of CGI, Inception brings you into a crazy imaginative world where despite a variety of rules, nearly anything is possible. Watch this with an open mind and mental preparation for visual and content insanity. Recommend but with a fair warning: this is not for the mindless.
P.S. I love the final shot of the movie, even if I did groan a bit. And you will too.