The sights and sounds in this film must be experienced. It is a beacon to a new age of filmmaking.

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2010)

9.6
Movies are changing. From Chaplin, to Welles, to Kubrick, to Christopher Nolan, movies have changed. There are tons of great directors and filmmakers making movies out there right now. Whether it be for mere profit, where production studios hire filmmakers to produce sequels for franchises and universes that will bring sales, or whether it be for pure artistic expression, filmmakers are changing the medium one step at a time.
Sadly, it seems that most of the films that are made just to earn money are the ones who are financially backed up well. There are tons of great ideas out there that never leave people's heads. Some of them do, but are poorly backed up and never quite match up to the original vision. However, every now and then, a studio gives a filmmaker who has proved himself a chance to make an original work, and gives them the necessary resources that they might need. Inception is such a film. Coming from the minds of the Nolan brothers, and in the works for about a decade, Inception has finally been made. The dream has become reality. And it was well worth every penny and every second of work put into it.
The film is about dreams and has a surrealistic feel to it. You are never really supposed to know whether the setting of the current scene takes place in reality, or in a dream. The movie itself is like a dream. The movie begins with the protagonist waking up on a beach, with the water hitting his face. As soon as Inception begins, so does the dream. The entire film has a dreamy, floaty feel to it. The dream sequences themselves are special, filled with uncanny lighting. In an early scene, a room is lit up by an incredible amount of lanterns on the roof.
Nolan shows us once again that he is one of the better directors of our time. Nolan isn't nearly even my favorite director, either. But him and his crew's talents, including Zimmer's, have shown us that superhero movies can be good. Now, they have shown us that they know a thing or two about the art of filmmaking. Everything comes together so powerfully well that the film often gave me goosebumps and mild shivers. There is a scene in the film that involves a rotating hallway, and lack of gravity. The music cues in at the perfect moment, and sounds exactly like it needs to sound, create a visual and auditorily symphony that needs to be experienced to be understood. It is Inception's greatest moment.
But it is not Inception's only glorious moment. The entire film's soundtrack is unique, and complements the narrative so well. The film has a theme of dream within dreams, and its plot and pacing still manage to flow well. When shots jump from the different levels of the dream, each shot, whether it be representing a moment that is taking 10 seconds of time, or a minute of time, or a half hour of time, works in harmony. The film itself becomes a multi-tiered crescendo moment, which ends up in a reference to my favorite film ever, and a very satisfying release, back into reality.
Which leads me to my last point: the ending. A lot of people out there disliked Inception's ending. A lot of people out there look for flaws in Inception. Filmmaking is an art. There are no rules, and no way to define what it is, except for what it is itself. People always seek catharsis in movies. They need the villains, which may represent their inner villains, to be destroyed or cast away. They need closure. They need the ending to be positive and affirming, just like how we want our endeavors in real life to end up well. But the truth is, not everything is for everyone. If you create a work of art, some will like it, and some won't. It can go either way. Just like the endings to some movies can, too.
Inception is a work of art and a testament to Nolan and his team's ability. Hans Zimmer creates the best work that he has done in his life, and it is a near masterpiece. Christopher Nolan also creates the best work that he has done in his life, and it is a beacon for contemporary filmmakers. The sights and sounds in this film opened my eyes and ears to what I believe is a new era of filmmaking. It is not to be missed. Inception is incredible on so many levels.