I won’t mince words with you.  Inception is a triumph that you should go see immediately.  Normally I’d build up to that kind of a statement, but I care so much that you go see it that if you don’t have the patience or inclination to read the rest of this review, no hard feelings.  However, if you’d like to see why I’m positively gushing about this film, please read on…

Chris Nolan has been able to do no wrong in my eyes ever since I saw Batman Begins.  He knew precisely how to steep the movie in plausibility, saving much of the comic book movie genre from becoming self parody. That being said, Inception proves that Nolan knows not only how to expand on others’ work, and mold it into believability, but also how to tell a completely original story of his own and gee willikers does it deliver.

Inception centers around Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a professional thief whose talents lie in the unconscious dream world.  Specifically, he and his partner, Arthur (Jason Gordon-Levitt) are well trained in entering a target’s mind whilst sleeping and with the assistance of a briefcase device, sharing their dream and deducing where their deepest secrets lie in their subconscious. After (allegedly) botching a high profile job, Dom and Arthur must round up a team for a new mission where the stakes are raised exponentially as its success dictates whether or not Cobb will be granted safe passage back to America from France to see his children again.  Why do I say safe passage?  Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil anything so let’s move on.

How is this possible?  How did these men come to engage in such a profession? Questions like these aren’t readily answered and the film is all the better for it.  By not exploring the nitty gritty of a shared dream space and the technology that makes it possible, Nolan deftly prevents critics attempting to belittle his masterpiece.  There are a few light clues into how the process came about, but the rest is simply left to the imagination, slyly nudging you to not get so caught up in the details and to focus on the characters.

I swear officer, they were like this when I got here.

Speaking of which, without a great cast to carry it, Inception wouldn’t have been very good.  Thankfully, superstars like DiCaprio and the always-excellent Michael Caine are more than up to the challenge. However, Jason Gordon-Levitt is incredible as well in his role as Arthur and almost steals the show.  Allowing slight cracks in that armor of stoicism he wears so well to reveal slivers of humor and charm made him my favorite character bar none- especially in his interactions with Ellen Paige who plays the role of the pseudo-attractive brainy girl once more to perfection.

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Hangover 2

Another hallmark of Inception is just how well it balances the inherent awe-factor of the sets with the characters.  Neither override the other and they blend together most harmoniously.  The characters are well-developed and you’ll find yourself just as interested in finding out what drives them as you will be taken back by the cinematic presentation of the Penrose stairs.  Because the psychology of a lucid dream is the prevailing theme, the projections of each of the characters’ minds and how they influence and shape the dream they inhabit continually enrich each other.

One of the best ways to describe Inception comes straight from one of the lines in the movie in that it really is ‘pure creation’.  Sure there have been mind-benders before, but seeing one that places the majority of the plot squarely on the shoulders or the psychological instead of slipping it in between systematic, over-the-top action beats is refreshing in the way that it doesn’t make the audience feel like a band of retarded gorillas. This isn’t to say there is no action, but there is just the right amount and those sequences are choreographed with a pristine elegance.  That’s right- elegance.  You’ll find no shaky-cam nonsense here or overreliance on a CGI artist.  By his own admission, Nolan sought to use CGI sparingly and only in a bid to enhance the traditional camera methods used to establish these wondrous shots-not to manufacture them. The refinement here is what really pushed Inception over the top.  It’s a thought-provoking film to be sure, but you’re left to ponder a bit more as you watch one of the most memorable fight scenes of the past decade transpire in a hotel hallway in which the gravity is ever-changing.

Predictably, the sets used are awe-inspiring and by necessity they had to be.  You can’t very well convince your audience that your protagonists are creating and manipulating a vivid dreamscape without taking the time to ensure that the shots look equal parts natural and subtly unnerving while also remaining completely enthralling.  Just as in a dream, you’ll have to pay attention to catch the tiny cues throughout that beg you to question what you’re watching.

I can tell you without hesitation that I’ll likely be late to work the morning this one makes its way to Blu Ray, as I will have been in line at my local Best Buy at midnight the night prior in desperate anticipation. I could likely ramble on for several more paragraphs praising Nolan for how well this movie is paced or how despite the depth of the plot how digestible it all is, but I think this will suffice;  Inception stands tall as that rare summer movie treat that’s as successful in telling a well-crafted, thought-provoking story as it is at wowing its audience with a superb presentation.

As such, it’d be a disservice to Nolan’s work to award it anything less than a perfect score- 10 out of 10.

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2. Review: Sherlock Holmes
3. Review: Alice in Wonderland
4. Review: New Moon
5. Review: Terminator Salvation