INCEPTION(2010)
(Directed by Christopher Nolan)
"A new idea is born. An idea of an intelligent summer blockbuster."- Signed by MartialHorror.
Plot: In a world where ideas can be literally stolen from the mind using the latest technology, a man has to do something that almost seems impossible: Plant an idea using that same technology. Review: As I excited as I was about "Inception", I made a point not to be too excited. Watching a movie that you expect to be the best movie of the year almost immediately sets you up for disappointment. But still, Leonardo DiCaprio is reliable in choosing the right projects and it's written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Nolan has become the new wonderchild of Hollywood. He's brought back class and creativity into cinema, beginning with "Memento". As a filmmaker, he seems to be getting better and better. Whereas previous wonderchilds like M. Night Shyamalan seem to be getting worse with movies like "The Last Airbender", and previous champions like Steven Spielberg are losing their touch, it's nice to see that someone like Christopher Nolan is there. "Inception" might not be his best movie, but it is a movie that I love. But calling it great and amazing might just help disappoint you when you see it, so I'll just have to keep this review confined to why I loved it. Ugh, describing the plot of this movie isn't easy. In the distant future, there is a technology that can assist people in creating and experiencing their own dreams and are able to connect multiple people into one dream. Cobb(Leonardo DiCaprio) has the skill to use this technology to enter your dreams and steal ideas from your mind. Despite his abilities, he fails in retrieving a dream from Saito(Ken Watanabe), a wealthy business mogul. Instead of killing him, Saito gives Cobb an offer he cannot refuse: Plant an idea in Robert Fischers(Cillian Murphy) mind so that when he inherits his dying Fathers(Pete Postlethwaite) business, he will disband his Father's company. If Cobb succeeds, he will be allowed to return to the U.S(he's banned) where he can be reunited with his children. So Cobb puts together a team to enter Fihchers mind, but has to contend with demons of his own mind. His memory of his wife, Mal(Marion Cotillard), has turned against him and plans to sabotage the mission. Will the team succeed? People have complained that "Inception" is confusing. I never found it confusing myself, but it is quite complicated. This is the type of movie that you have to pay attention to keep up with it, and bathroom breaks are a big no no. If you miss the wrong scene, you won't have an idea of what's wrong on. You must watch everything from beginning to end. I suppose some might consider this a chore, but to me, it's a revelation. How many big budgeted movies challenge the mind like this one? You must stay on top of it because eventually it goes into dreams within dreams that are within other dreams. I never found it to be overbearing, but always interesting. Visually, "Inception" is a masterpiece. The special effects work 99.9% of the time and they aren't just great effects. All the effects mean something. They represent a facet of a dream or an idea of the mind and they're not just there to look cool. The special effects themselves reveal a lot about the story and characters. I suppose this might burn people out, trying to follow the films dialogue and visuals at once, but I was never bothered. Nolan uses the special effects creatively and efficiently, piling it all with potent symbolism and style. This is definitely more stylish than Nolan's previous efforts, but is certainly not a case of "style over substance". The style adds to the substance. But of course, my final connection to this movie was its character arc. Cobb's journey in many ways reminded me of Teddy's(also played by Leo) journey in "Shutter Island". Both of them are exploring their own emotional issues, which form into literal challenges, which consists of the entire journey. Is the movie about a group of people trying to implant an idea, or is it about a man who is trying to overcome his guilt and sees a way to redemption? It is a strong subtext, and I was with Cobb every moment of the way. Granted, I would've liked a little more emphasis on its supporting characters, but it was Cobb's journey, not theirs. So that's just me being greedy, and actually adding more to them might've taken away from Cobb. But the actors are superb all around, so I guess that was enough. So why did I love it? I made an emotional connection to the characters, an intellectual connection to the story and Nolan's visual style was awe inducing. Does that mean everyone will like it? No, but no movie is unanimous in praise. It is "The Matrix" meets "Ocean's 11", "Dark City" and "Shutter Island". That's the closest way to explain it, but the film is so unique that even that claim doesn't do it justice. In comparison with Nolan's movies, I'd say it's better than "The Dark Knight", but not quite as good as "Memento". It's just a wonderful movie that captivated my mind, eyes and emotions. Amazing. Violence: PG-13 worthy. Nudity: None. 4/4 Stars
Overall: "Inception" is a must see for people who like it when summer blockbusters are intelligent. A spectacular film that must be a financial hit for movies like this to thrive. If it's not the best movie of the year, it just might be the most important.