It is...pure creation

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 2010)

Just like Ellen Page's character Ariadne says "It is pure creation" This quote summarizes whole movie. Inception is a well through implicitly written and edited , deep , thrilling and above all INTELLIGENT summer sci-fi block buster we miss so much for years.
The reason and genius behind this work of art is one name : Christopher Nolan. This is his handiwork , his final work on through , conscious and sub conscious mind state. He spent ten years to complete the script. Believe me. It shows on the screen. Since Memento we see his obsession on time , memories , dreaming , emotional pain , loss , tragedy in dark noir sense....Now I have decided that these aspects are his trademarks...But boy he uses them excellently especially in Inception. He is not after latest CGI explosion. For him CGI and other special effect tricks are just tools to tell his story and his characters. And due to his trade marks I mentioned above his stories , characters are serious and involving. As you go one layer after another you give yourself as a whole to understand the plot and characters. In Inception whole audience is so mesmerized when it ended with that ending there were lots of "ahhhhhhh"s. Christopher Nolan does not insult audience and their intelligence. He trusts them. He creates a maze at first half then puts us right in it. He does not bore and lower his standards with lame teenager jokes and sex appeal of latest no talent chicks. He does not make fun movies. But he also leaves entertainment element in his productions. There is humor but subtle and timely. There is action but it is on the spot and not over the top. There are few clichés if none. It is not predictable. You do not know what is coming next. Time difference , cut/edit work between several dream levels are jaw dropping. Several scenes like zero gravity fight at hotel or slow motion drop of van are sure to be cult moments for fans. They reek of elegant artistic work. Nolan takes his work seriously. He is making what Alfred Hitchkock or Stanley Kubrick was doing in previous decades. He is working on 7th Art....
Main characters also display an impressive performance on screen. Leonardo Di Caprio ( who is becoming more legendary and professional because he chooses his projects carefully ) is the main protagonist of Inception....his character Dom Cobb is an Extractor , a thief of thoughts and ideas in dream state and he is one of the best. A fugitive for a murder he did not commit he is on run around the world and he is also a haunted man marked with tragedy. Inception is primarily Cobb's story...his dealings with his loss and his quest to reunite with his children. Caprio puts his best performance with this character. Joseph Gordon Levitt is Arthur the Point Man , Cobb's partner in extracting operations. I saw Levitt first time in that awful GI Joe movie last year. But here he was quite excellent. Ellen Page surprised me with her decent performance as Ariadne the Arcitect , builder of dreams and a recent addition to Cobb's team. She performed as a very mature , wise character , a voice of reason for Cobb. Tom Hardy ( I know him from Star Trek Nemesis movie , Band of Brothers and Colditz mini series ) was another amazing stand out as wise cracking Eames the Forger. And let's not forget wonderful French actress Marion Cotillard as Mal , main villain of Inception....Cotillard was quite good when I saw her first time in Public Enemies last year. But in Inception her acting is beyond words. Her glare was enough...Other actors Ken Watanabe ( Last Samurai , Letters from Iwo Jima ) as Saito the Tourist who hired Cobb and his team for "Inception" , Cillian Murphy as Robert Fischer the Mark ( quite a normal and emotional character a real change for Murphy ) , Dillop Rao as Yusuf the Chemist and Tom Berenger as Browning were also quite impressive. Legendary Michael Caine also has a short role as Miles. Cast is quite international. ( British , Irish , American , Canadian , Japanese , French ) It seems that Nolan is not interested working with latest Hollywood celebrity. He is interested working with a talented cast...And you know what ? It works
Last thoughts : Thank God for Christopher Nolan. When we despaired of Hollywood and its finished creativity he served us Inception....A movie that incepts ideas in minds , inspires , starts creativity....It is not a comic book rip-off or a remake of another classic. I know some would say that Inception was ripped from Japanese animes to Matrix , Uncle Scrooge comics...So what ? Nolan never denied that he used ideas from James Bond movies , "13th Floor" ( another impressive production ) , Matrix....He mixed them so well you do not realize that fact at all. Pay no attention to them. As for me...I am eagerly waiting Inception DVD....