Inception (2010)

Inception (2010)

7/10

Starring

Leonardo DiCaprio

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Marion Cotillard

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Inception is like a chess game with two players: the dream thieves and the dream owner. It’s truly one of a kind, and the way the movie plays out is a reminder of why Christopher Nolan (Memento (2000) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012)) will be remembered as one of the best filmmakers out there.

Inception’s cinematography and special effects will definitely wow you, and when the movie kicks off, the way the story unfolds will make you sit up and refuse to blink, fearing you might miss something. This joy while viewing doesn’t happen all the time when watching a movie.

As classic as it is, funny enough, it didn’t win Best Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards, losing out to The King’s Speech that year. I have to give kudos to the directing and writing (both done by Christopher Nolan himself). While watching this film, I knew we were looking at an advanced world. I understood that “dream extraction” was happening, and the excitement didn’t make me care about any loose ends. All I cared about was how the film would play out.

The movie starts by introducing the key players in the business of dream extraction, led by Leonardo DiCaprio. Alongside him are Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets.

Cobb has been unable to return home to his family, so when he’s offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task called “inception”—where he and his crew must plant an idea into someone’s subconscious—he takes it. The task is deemed impossible, but Cobb insists it can be done, and he and his crew take it on.

As far as acting goes, no one can say Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t up to the task. His performance and the professionalism he brought to the movie stand out. That takes nothing away from his co-stars, as this well-ensemble cast around him held their own.

This visually stunning movie, takes its time to build its pace, so there is a slight uneven pacing when you watch, as some scenes are drawn out too long, distracting you from the gripping narrative. Now, I have to mention this, you will need to pay attention while watching this movie, because the complex structure, with its multiple dream layers, can be confusing.

Nolan chose to end the movie in a way that leaves the viewer wondering whether everything they saw was real or just another dream, which I and some others did not really like, because in this movie's case, I would have liked it to end, and not leave me thinking.

So, if you’re like me and know that Nolan is too good a filmmaker to ignore, then what are you waiting for? If you haven’t seen Inception in this century, then you haven’t seen one of the best thrillers to hit the silver screen.