INCEPTION review

If you have any plans on seeing Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending new movie, you should do so quickly, because this is sure to be the type of movie that has people standing around the metaphorical water cooler and discussing it- especially the ending.

Let me start out by saying that Inception is one of the best movies I have seen this year, and ranks among the best movies I have seen over the last few years. Don’t be fooled by the fact that I am a tech guy with deep sci-fi leanings which might make you think that I would be predisposed to liking this movie anyway. Nolan’s sci-fi slanted, trippy, mind-blowing film is certain to be the type of movie that won’t be easily defined, and will appeal to fans of any genre. Years from now, video stores (assuming there are any video stores left years from now) will likely have to think long and hard about whether to label this movie as sci-fi, action, or even drama before assigning it a place on the shelves. It is a movie that defies easy analysis, but still manages to entertain.

Inception is Nolan’s reward for the success of the Batman films. Without the critical and commercial success of his previous blockbusters, it is hard to imagine a studio shelling out the kind of money that Warner Bros. handed over to Nolan for what is essentially a passion project- roughly $160 million. By comparison, 2008’s The Dark Knight cost $185 million and it was a tested franchise with massive buzz even before the script was finished. Inception is a different kind of animal.

It must have been an interesting pitch to Warner Bros. studio heads. Nolan likely went in and said something along the lines of “I have this idea. It’s a movie about a group that can go into dreams and steal ideas, but the subject can fight back and destroy the dream world. Oh, and I need around a $150 million.“ Once the puzzled looks and taunting laughs subsided, someone probably reminded them that Nolan had just grossed over $1 billion with The Dark Knight, and that was that.

With Inception, Nolan did exactly what he intended, received the exact performances from some of this generations best actors and actresses, and created a movie that will likely generate Oscar buzz. Not everyone will agree, and some people are likely to seriously hate parts of this movie, but those voices are likely to disappear beneath the avalanche of well deserved praise that Inception is likely to garner.

As to what Inception is all about, this review will be spoiler free, but if you want to be completely in the dark about the story, you might want to stop reading here and skip down two paragraphs. In some ways, it is very much like The Matrix- not so much in the story (although there are a few similarities), just in the sense that to explain the world of Inception robs a bit of the fun from the movie, and undermines the deliberately vague nature of the trailers that have managed to walk the thin line between giving away too much, and still being appealing. Most people going into the movie have only a vague idea about what they are about to see, so if you wish your eyes to remain completely virgin, scroll down past the next two paragraphs.

via Inception Review.