My favorite Nolan film to date...

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2017)

Plot
Inception is a heist film that features Leonardo DiCaprio as a Dominic "Dom" Cobb who has been forced to leave the States due to a murder conviction. This event leaves him desperately trying to find his way back to his kids, while pulling one extraction job after another just to make ends meet. These are no ordinary extraction jobs, however, since Cobb is using a highly experimental military technology that allows him to infiltrate the mind of his target and ultimately manipulate that person into giving him the information that he needs to successfully complete the mission. When Cobb's first job in the film goes wrong and he fails in his assignment, he is ultimately forced to work with a Japanese billionaire businessman, played by Ken Watanabe, who promises Cobb a chance to finally return to America and be with his children. The biggest catch of the deal is that Cobb must pull off a job that is otherwise considered impossible to do. He must plant an idea into the mind of his target, played by Cillian Murphy, that will compel the latter to make a major business decision that would disband his father's energy company, a method known as Inception.
The Casting
The casting for this film is spot on. Leonardo DiCaprio is unforgettable as a broken, yet highly clever and experienced extractor of information who just wants to go home and be reunited with his family.
Cobb's right-hand man, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is very suave and competent in his field as he as constantly attempts to appeal to Cobb's more logical reasoning by offering up a more realistic viewpoint of the latter's situation. Arthur is particularly skeptical of not only Saito's intentions but also of whether Inception is even a possibility. Believing the mission to be a massive failure from the start, Arthur tries to convince Cobb to simply walk away from the job, despite Saito's irresistibly tempting offer.
The rest of the casting in Inception is perfect. Christopher Nolan couldn't have done a better a job of assigning these roles if he'd tried.
Pacing
The movie includes an excellent combination of fast-paced action scenes and a more deeply written story that focuses on the individual development, agendas, and flaws of some of the characters. Nolan's approach to exploring the sub- consciousness of one's mind and how it can be manipulated by an outside force is enough to make me appreciate the unexpected twists and turns in the plot itself as my mind races and my heart continues to pump nonstop throughout the course of the film all the way to the end.
The Story
It's so easy to make an action film all about the action or to make a deep, emotional film all about the story and maybe not include enough action, but that isn't a problem for Inception. Nolan gives us a compelling story that focuses on the visceral depth of the characters and the challenges that they face throughout the course of the film, while simultaneously using the action only to support the continuous flow of the story, instead of overshadowing it with too many pointless explosions, fight, and/or car chase scenes. Yes, the film does include all of this, but it is never overwhelming or entirely pointless. The Story With Inception, we get a fresh, complete original and engaging story that never fails to impress. Personally, I feel that it leaves me with an ending the makes me think about the limitations of my imagination and where I can go with that imagination if I just knock down the barriers that would otherwise keep me from going to distance and beyond with my own vision. From beginning to end, the story keeps the viewers guessing. It keeps them wondering and, therefore, constantly trying to figure out what is real and what is just another part of the dream. It will force you to ask questions, intelligent questions that could alone prove to be a roller-coaster ride of a trip for the mind itself. What is real? What isn't real? Is any of it real, or are all the characters in this film leaving in one big dream world? These are the questions that I find myself asking during and after watching this masterpiece of a film.
Visual Appeal
Visually, the greatest highlights of the film were of course the city scene, which showed us a dreamed-up Paris bending into itself, and the hotel scene, which showed us constantly rotating and shifting environment that basically said, "Reality, what's that?" Watching a film like Inception, I can't help but wonder if maybe I'm living in a dream world half the time. Who knows, maybe somebody else is bending my so-called reality to their will so they can extract valuable information from the sub-conscious reaches of my mind.
Final Verdict
Inception is completely original both in concept and in execution of that concept. There is absolutely no point of failure in either the story, the character development, or the general pacing with this film. So, if you enjoy the kind of science-fiction, psychological thrillers that toy with the mind's understanding of the very definition of reality itself, then, this is an A-grade movie that will not fail to live up to your expectations. I give this film a rating of 10 out of 10 for best performances, best story, and best originally done visuals that I've seen in a long time.