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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Set Visit Preview and 4 Awesome New Posters!INCEPTION Review
by Matt Goldberg Posted:July 16th, 2010 at 2:22 am
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“True inspiration is impossible to fake,” explains a character in Christopher Nolan’s existentialist heist film Inception. If that’s the case, then Inception is one of the most honest films ever made. Nolan has crafted a movie that’s beyond brilliant and layered both narratively and thematically. It requires the audience to take in a collection of rules, exceptions, locations, jobs, and abilities in order to understand the text, let alone the fascinating subtext. Nolan’s magnum opus is the first major blockbuster in over a decade that’s demanded intense viewer concentration, raised thoughtful and complex ideas, and wrapped everything all in a breathlessly exciting action film. Inception may be complicated, but simply put it’s one of the best movies of the year.
“I’m asking you to take a leap of faith.”
Inception requires so much exposition that a lesser director would have forced theaters to distribute pamphlets to audience members in order to explain the complicated world he’s developed. During my first draft of this view, I realized I had spent three paragraphs simply trying to explain the plot. I will simply avoid this exposition and present the movie’s basic premise. Inception centers on a team of individuals led by an “extractor” named Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who, through the use of a special device, construct the dreams of a target and use those dreams to implant an idea so that the target will make a decision beneficial to the individual who hired the team. To say that scratches the surface would be an insult to both scratches and surfaces. But since it takes Nolan about fifty minutes to set everything up, I hope you’ll forgive my brevity.
Why is it so difficult to explain the plot in depth? First, I don’t want to spoil you. Secondly, the film layers dreams on top of dreams to the point where a unique keepsake called a “totem” is required in order to inform a character as to whether or not he or she is still dreaming. Then you have people in particular roles like “The Architect”, “The Forger”, and “The Chemist” in order to pull off the job. Furthermore, dreams have rules: dying in a dream forces the dreamer to wake up, delving too deeply into a mind can cause an eternal slumber called “Limbo”, using memories to construct dreams is dangerous because it can blur the line between dreams and reality. In addition, intruding in the dreams of another will cause the dreamer’s “projections” (human representations created by the dreamer) to attack the intruders like white blood cells going after an infection. And these explanations only represent a fraction of the terminology, rules, exceptions, or details that are necessary for creating the world of Inception.
But it’s not a confusing movie if you provide it with your full attention. There are a lot of summer movies that ask you turn off your brain and enjoy the persistent-vegetative-state ride. Inception is not one of those movies. There’s a lot to take in, but the imaginative and thoughtful delivery of exposition keeps the viewer riveted despite the amount of information required in order to understand the premise, setting, and plot.
It tends to be the case that lots of rules create lots of loopholes. Filmmakers can use these to cheat and let audiences fill in the leaps of logics. But Inception always plays fair. It will twist your mind but it’s not a film built on twists. It’s a film built on possibilities and the boldness of pursuing those possibilities. On my first viewing, the film experienced a technical malfunction where a misplaced reel skipped the movie forward by twenty minutes and then played the scene upside down and in reverse. Inception had already sent the audience through such a strange narrative labyrinth that almost everyone in the theater wasn’t sure if something had gone wrong or if Nolan had just made another bold decision.
The film deserves, demands, and rewards repeat viewings, but from your first viewing you can grasp the events on screen and how they interact with each other as long as you force yourself to be an active viewer. But with set pieces so intricate, so jaw-dropping, and so breathtaking, you’ll find that there’s no exertion needed to stay focused. You’ll already be swept up in the whirlwind.
“And I will lead them on a merry chase.”
Inception features one of the best fight scenes of all-time. Take a moment to consider that: in the entire history of cinema, of every fight scene that has ever taken place, the one in this movie is among the best. Watching a fight without gravity is incredible. It’s not like in The Matrix where a character can defy gravity if they choose. The fight scene in Inception has no gravity to defy and Arthur (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the team’s point man, has to figure out how to achieve his objective while fending off projections. I can only hope that someday in the distant future, when people with free time are on a space station in zero-gravity, they will re-enact this scene. In the meantime, Nolan’s spectacular visual effects will have to suffice.
With the exception of one set piece (which I’ll get to in a moment), the action scenes in Inception are spectacular. Visually lush and imaginative, Nolan transforms car chases into countdowns, fistfights into puzzles, and shootouts into…well, shootouts. There’s a mission on a snowy mountainside that doesn’t work as well as the other set pieces because there’s a poor sense of location, a lack of visual diversity, and sloppy editing. But that doesn’t really halt or hurt the film because Nolan brilliantly placed the car chase, the fistfight, and the shootout on top of each other. You would think this would cause action fatigue, but by cutting between three set pieces and having what happens in one set piece affect the others, the action climax of Inception isn’t exhausting—it’s exhilarating.
“If you’re going to perform inception, you need imagination.”
You can be the best action director around but you can only get so far if you lack characters worth caring about. With Inception, every character not only has a particular skill and task, but has a personality that mirrors their job description.
We learn about the characters of Inception not from long monologues about their past or even (with the exception of Cobb) delving into their dreams and memories. We learn about them by how they interact with each other. The small moments between Arthur and Eames, “The Forger” (Tom Hardy) indicate years of working on j tolerating each other on jobs but with no animosity between the two. Neophyte “Architect” Ariadne (Ellen Page) is a total jerk towards Cobb, but she’s the only one who’s willing to cut through his bullshit. Cobb’s relationship with his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) is the heart of Inception. The interactions among the supporting characters are standard for a well-made action movie, but the relationship between Cobb and Mal is yet another reason why Inception stands apart.
DiCaprio will take some flack for playing a similar character to his one in Shutter Island from earlier this year. Both Cobb and Teddy Daniels have become separated from their families, suffer from unbearable guilt, and have a tough time handling the nature of reality. Here’s another similarity: DiCaprio is great in both movies. I wouldn’t worry about him getting typecast as tragic-figure-with-tenuous-grasp-on-reality-as-a-result-of-intense-guilt-and-regret.
Two of the film’s stars will (hopefully) find their careers at the next level after this movie opens. Their names are “Joseph Gordon-Levitt” and “Tom Hardy”. Gordon-Levitt has excelled at playing lost boys, tortures souls, and recently a charming male lead in (500) Days of Summer. You can now add “bad-ass blockbuster action star” to that list. Gordon-Levitt’s versatility is why I will be excited for any movie that lists him as one of its stars.
Hardy’s critically acclaimed performance in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson brought him to Hollywood’s attention. His performance in Inception will bring him the attention of countries. He brings a light-hearted touch to the film and while the script forces other characters to remain serious, Eames takes a more laid back approach to the mind-heist game. But he’s not comic relief and he’s not around to comment on absurd circumstances. Like everyone in the cast, he’s there to help the team achieve their goal (although the script functions in such a way that you could see each character as a representation of a specific idea).
The only actor who’s a little shaky is Ken Watanabe who plays Saito, the team’s employer. His performance is great. He pulls off the impressive feat of being threatening without being menacing. The only problem is that Watanabe’s Japanese accent is so thick that it’s sometimes difficult to make out what he’s saying. In a movie where the dialogue is as delicately crafted as the rest of the film, it’s unfortunate to lose a few lines due to something as simple as pronunciation. And it’s only noticeable because everything in Inception is so finely crafted.
The physical scope of this movie is astounding. Worlds fall on top of each other, a freight train can burst onto a city street, hotels can lose all gravity, and everything that we know is impossible appears completely natural. It’s not enough to say that the cinematography is gorgeous, or that the sound design is sensational, or that this is one of composer Hans Zimmer’s all-time best scores. There aren’t “supporting” elements in Inception. Just as the film layers its narrative structure and thematic subtext, so it does with its technical elements. You will notice the cinematography and the art direction and the sounds and the score. It’s like hearing beautiful solos mixed together in a glorious anthem.
“Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.”
As you’ve probably guessed, when I said at the beginning of this review that Inception was the first movie in over a decade to mix breathtaking action with thoughtful subtext, I was referring to 1999′s The Matrix. The comparisons are inevitable. Both movies deal with the nature of reality combined with pulse-pounding set pieces that will be included in any action-scene highlight reel. But The Matrix is a freshman level course compared to the doctorate held by Inception, and it has nothing to do with how far special effects have come in ten years. It’s about taking multiple genres, settings, ideas, emotions, and questions and weaving them into a rich tapestry that will have folks talking long after the credits roll. But then you throw in those advanced special effects and you have a summer blockbuster that will blow your mind.
You’ve never seen anything like Inception, and you’ll want to see it again and again.
Rating: A
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Related Links
- INCEPTION Press Conference Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Christopher Nolan, Hans Zimmer and Emma Thomas
- 4 Movie Clips from Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION
- INCEPTION Video Roundup: Christopher Nolan On Set Interview, 6 Minutes of B-Roll (Behind the Scenes Footage), Video Featurette
- 7 New Character Posters for Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION!
- UK TV Spot for Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION
this film deserved an Oscar, seriously. even a nomination would do. but i know Nolan wasn't all about awards and stuff, but this is the perfect masterpiece where he should win the Best Director. the Academy must be blind for not acknowledging this movie. this movie would come up again in the next 10,20 years or so. this movie is amazing, and i don't think even 'amazing' would cut it.
i totally agree man.
Joseph Levitt is so cute in this movie. He’ll be in the Dark Knight rising as maybe the new joker or the riddler. Can’t believe he is the little boy from Angels in the out field!! Love to see him move he is a talented and excellent actor!! Iception has to be watch atleast 4 or 5 times to know whats going on. It looks good by confusing. Feels like a kind of matrix or takers more complex!! Ready for him to get a starring role. Hall way fight scene is matrix like.
Great Review- makes me seriously want to watch it again. This is just breathtaking , visually.
A great review. To be honest I was incredibly disappointed in the film. The numerous influences and ideas from other films and books, which I can usually overlook when watching a film, really pulled me out of the film.
I agree it looked lovely and the acting was brilliant, but the film left me cold.
I so wanted to like it, but I didn't
My review – http://bit.ly/9ymS33
You are crazy! what wasn’t here to like about the movie? What could have possibly “pulled you away and left you cold”? The only thing to leave anyone cold was the ending, which I thought was brilliant to leave to the viewer to decide
Saw Inception. Did NOT like it.
Would describe it as one long, VERY long music video.
What the $#$^$! I didn’t go to see a music video. I went to see a frickin feature film.
One observation I’ve made is that adding music to a scene of often over used because
the director or producer may feel that the acting or story is not strong enough, so instead they drown it out with EPIC music. I think this is cinematic insecurity.
LOL
Oh yeah,
The Japanese guy overacts much of the time.
Best guys for me were the English bloke and Leonardo.
The young mind-driller girl looked RIDICULOUS in the ski mask. She looked like a mini-chipmunk. I laughed out loud during these snow scenes.
LOL
Are you kidding me? The music was a subtle background piece that, not only played a major part in the movies itself, but also exentuated the action. All of these actors were phenomenal and for you to say that Ellen Paige looked “RIDICULOUS” is just your way of presenting us with your own insecurity and inability to actually find something wrong with this film. E.A.D.~
Obviously no imagination…since when wardrobe defined a movie?
Funny, I did not even hear the music when recapping the movie.
you probably had no idea what was going on, is that why you only noticed the music and the ski mask
you probably had no idea what was going on, is that why you only noticed the music and the ski mask
VideoBiz: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU???
Are you not human or something? I ask because only something with no IMAGINATION can say or think something like this.
And the music OH MY GOD I got goosebumps!!!
The ending song I seriously cried….thats how much of an affect it had on me.
You dont deserve to post something on here, go away.
I 110% agree with this guy…GREAT movie
I 110% agree with this guy…GREAT movie
it was boring….some in the United States must be really mentally bored to think that this is an exciting movie….check out Momento….now that was a great movie
You do realize that Nolan also directed Memento right?
Momento was good but not as good as inception…if you think it was boring its truly cause you didnt get it… momento worked backwards and it was like Ground Hogs day over n over never ending same idea everytime… This movie worked in loopholes. Making you bleve in the unbelievable working your every brain cells to try to decipher what was real from fake.. i feel sorry for people like you that dont get it….
Momento was good but not as good as inception…if you think it was boring its truly cause you didnt get it… momento worked backwards and it was like Ground Hogs day over n over never ending same idea everytime… This movie worked in loopholes. Making you bleve in the unbelievable working your every brain cells to try to decipher what was real from fake.. i feel sorry for people like you that dont get it….
WE LOVED INCEPTION BECAUSE OF THAT MOVIE!!!!!!!!
You f**king retard. Ok Im sick of seeing pointless comments saying it left them “cold” or it was a music video, or the pointless one is yours “Check out Momento…..now that was a great movie”<——–NO SHIT ITS NOLAN
God go get an Imagination, till then DONT POST SHIT
WE LOVED INCEPTION BECAUSE OF THAT MOVIE!!!!!!!!
You f**king retard. Ok Im sick of seeing pointless comments saying it left them “cold” or it was a music video, or the pointless one is yours “Check out Momento…..now that was a great movie”<——–NO SHIT ITS NOLAN
God go get an Imagination, till then DONT POST SHIT
it was boring….some in the United States must be really mentally bored to think that this is an exciting movie….check out Momento….now that was a great movie
exactlly while i was watching this my face was in shock with my jaws dropped so amazed at this perfect film couldnt believe a movie could be this good after it it makes u wanna talk to random strangers about it lol 100000000 out of 10
After watching the much anticipated movie, I thought something was wrong wiith me as friends on FB raved over it like it was THE movie of all times. Thank goodness, I am not alone. Thank you for your honesty. Like you I sooo wanted to like it, but I didn’t.
Somethings wrong with you, lol sorry. This was seriously the most INCREDIBLE movie Ive ever seen!
Fortunately, since the Oscars aren't announced until early next year, there is still plenty of time. I would love to see it get nominated for Picture and Director (I wrote a tad about it here: http://thistooismeaningless.com/2010/07/inception/), but somehow doubt it will walk away victorious.
What movies do you think can beat out this movie? any good movies you know coming out this year that is as top-quality as ‘Inception’?
Wow that was one great master piece of Nolan, a story narrated simply but with great complexity the structure remains. i give the creativity a 10 on 10 score.
I really want to see this movie… Unfortunately, it will be released in August 6th in Brazil…
save your money….boring and way overrated
save your money….boring and way overrated
If you want copy call me
This is the best review of Inception I've read thus far. Inception is also probably the best movie I've seen in life thus far. That is all.
SLIGHT SPOILER. WHY are you on here if you haven't seen it??? Anyway.
It is the best movie I've seen so far this year. I will for sure see it again. Great acting, score, directing, action, etc. It def stays with you after you leave the theatre. The problem I had with it was the ending. NOw, the ending didn't ruin the movie for me, but it wasn't needed.
The ending is open ended. I have always hated endings that leave the door open for multiple possibilities. To me it is the easy way out. Directors should stick to their guns and pick and ending and die by it. But for whatever reason, open ended endings are seen as “brilliant.”
The reason the open ending didn't ruin the whole movie for me is because to me, it is actually pretty clear how it ends. The final shot was just thrown in their to make people think twice. That was the shocking part. I never thought C Nolan would have an ending like that. A shot put it to deliberately frustrate you.
But apparently that's why people say it's a masterpiece, because it forces you to analyze what you just saw. Sorry but too easy.
I don’t think it was an open ending, I thought when he first spun his top (when he was looking at it it was about to fall, hence he was no longer dreaming) but when he went to his children (no longer looking at it, it was on pace to spin forever, hence he is dreaming) so to him he is back in reality but in actuality the audience is able to see he is living in a world similar to the one he put his wife in (thinking the fake life was real) so he is going to live the remainder of his life in a dream/false life. His employer has planted a thought within his head just like he does
It’s much more clear and straight forward the second time.
To me it’s clear he wakes up. The movie is about letting go of whatever is bothering you. Wether it be guilt or shame, whatever. CObb had to get over his guilt over the death of his wife. At the end he tells his wife that she isn’t real and that he has to move on. He then stays in limbo to look for Saito so Saito can make the call that would let Cobb into the states.
Theres no reason for him to stay in a dream state. They accomplished the mission and he was able to put his guilt to rest. When he gets home and he spins the top he walks away because he knows he’s not dreaming he doesn’t have to see if it fall. And yes the top was losig momentum and was about to topple before they cut to black. In a dream world the top never wobbled, always a fast zip on it.
Having said that check out this explanation of the movie. Its cool and works if you think CObb wakes up or stays dreaming.
http://chud.com/articles/articles/24477/1/NEVER-WAKE-UP-THE-MEANING-AND-SECRET-OF-INCEPTION/Page1.html
Haven't seen it, but I always read reviews on here if I haven't seen it.
It's easy not to spoil.
Just read the 1st paragraph and the last one and nothing gets spoiled, but you will get a general sense of what the movie is comprised of.
At least that works for me, anyone else??!?!
End of Line
This review is overly glowing. The movie is a B+++, not a A. Let's not pretend that there is anything extremely original here. It's the Matrix meets the Dark Night. Other criticisms: The movie's sound is over powering and at times takes away from scenes that would have done better with overutilized boom in the background; I personal disagree with your assessment Ken Watanabe's acting. I agree with you that the acting was superb and that there was only on ching in the armour. However I disagree that that misstep was Cillian Murphy's he was under-utilized and to be perfectly honest his aciting was VERY muted. He could have been played by a kitchen towel and the audience wouldn't have known the difference.
This was the worst movie I have ever seen. After all of the hype, I was expecting something deep and thought provoking. Instead, it was a like a
schizophrenic nightmare on film. To me… this was totally not believable… the story line did not mesh together. Ohhhh… three levels…. it could have gone down 6 levels and it still wouldn’t have worked. Also.. the casting was completely wrong… which was part of the reason why it was ‘unbelievable’. DiCaprio is one of the worst actors out there… his wife on film… was completely wrong… like she would have ever fallen for DiCaprio… and then the phony accents on all of them…. but to be fair… the entire cast just didn’t fit or work. Ill be putting the discs up on ebay immediately…. hopefully I can recoup some of my cost.
Jeff, you are a fool… go watch another Ernest movie, its obviously all your brain can handle..
Hey man.. Tom and jerry may be the most complex visual that your brain can handle..
Go for that !
Totally agree. I can best describe this as the thinking man's movies. A lesser director would've piled us high with spectacular visuals and no plot. Nolan is slightly more sparing with the visuals, but has a juggernaut of a plot, with a fantastic cast all around. Absolutely loved Tom Hardy. After his performance in this and Layer Cake, I'm really hoping we'll get to see more of him. This movie truly shows what I've known ever since I saw Memento, that Christopher Nolan is truly the most exciting director working right now.
http://www.igp-scifi.com/Inception.html
This movie was AMAAAZIING. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I honestly can say it is the BEST, most well planned out movie, most action packed film, i have EVER seen in my life. I think it should win EVERY movie award out there, and i hope it does(:
OMG!!!!!!!!At the end I was filled with vibration from the inside out. What a great movies/story. It does need your full attention but I can only compare it to being on the most intense carnival ride ever. Excellent.
I was absolutely amazed with this movie…it really catches you and keeps you glued. Once you get the concept this movie and the effects are w/o questioncomparable and 20 times better then the matrix. Definitely worth seeing more then once Nolan has done it again!
Are you from the future? Great use of past-tense.
OUTSTANDING!!!! LMAO!!!
Well let's not pretend the matrix is too original either it has a very similar concept to that of Dark City which came out a year before.
i saw this movie on friday and it was everything the reviewer said it was. it was amazing and creative. i name it best movie of the year.
this movie is just so amazing, better than even. I wana see it again so bad. It never lost my attetion and I thought every part of it was good. The ending pissed me off so much but I still loved it. I started screaming at the end of the movie “FALL FALL FALL!!!” but it didnt…..man thats gonna annoy me all day now…..
AMAZING MOVIE TO SAY THE LEAST… leo was magnificient.. three cheers for Nolan. This years two best movies starred Leo, shutter island and inception. Long way to go..
will watch it once more ( missed few lines )
*SPOILERS* He didn't leave it open. Cobb getting to see his children's faces was as much as an answer as if the top had fallen over. He wasn't able to see his children's faces because he never did in real life. He wasn't able to recreate that from memory or imagination. That's why he turned when Mal told him to look. So at the end, when he finally sees their faces, I think that is undeniable proof that he is not dreaming still. *END SPOILERS*
no your wrong i clearly remember his regret over not calling to his children because his wanted to look at their faces “one last time” which suggusts obviously that he has seen them plenty of times before. If hes never seen them how would they even know who he is enough to talk to him on the phone and wish him to come home. no you are wrong and i think he is in his dreamworld because the children’s ages didn’t change and they were wearing the same clothes as always and were in the same position as always in the memories.
Dude, the children were wearing the same clothes for the sake of letting the audience decide what happened. And the children’s ages DID change. Check out the castings at the end of the movie. 2 different kids were used for the role of James and Phillipa. But, I agree that he has DEFINATELY seen them before.
*SPOILERS* I think the part that was left open was not that when we woke it was real, but was everything else just a casual dream? Have not analyzed this much but could it of been from the time we first see Cobb to when we awakes on the plane it is all just a dream with the people he first stepped on the plane with. It might of all been a dream to explain a guilt he feels for his wife dying.*END SPOILERS*
Thanks for the review and it is really breathtaking. However, I disagree with the author about Ken Watanabe, who in my opinion played his role brilliantly. And yes, this is a film that you need to see more than once and in Imax!
the reason Nolan ended the film that way was just to point out that it doesnt matter if Cobb is in reality anymore because he thinks he is and thats all that matters because reality is all a matter of perception. Honestly i would have been disappointed if Nolan ended it differently
exactly. aren’t we all missing the main point, the point that nolan points to at the end of the movie with the spinning top- that ‘reality’ seems real to us only because we are currently inside it but it indeed our reality outside the cinema could just as easily be a dream. and also that the line between reality and dreams (dreams as in what we desire to happen rather than what is a fantasy) is thin. cobb has his children back which is his ultimate ‘dream’ hence why the spinning top keeps spinning when he is reunited with them.
Actually just as it cuts to black you can see the top is about to topple over. ( I just watched it again)
Another reason why he possibly ended the film the way he did with the piece spinning and not know if it falls over or not was so they could make a sequel to the film and then have it fall over and go into a whole new set of dreams after that.
Memento. Nuff said?
I read this other opinion on the movie. Baiscally The movie is what it is. The last shot was the INCEPION for US, th audience. The whole movie is NOLAN putting the idea in our heads and the last shot signifies the start of the INCEPTION. It makes sense.
If you notice they never show the name of the movie until the end. Last shot sets up the INCEPTION for us, cuts to black and it reads INCEPTION.
Just like NOLAN's last two movies.
BATMAN BEGINS doesn't appear until the end. When BATMAN finally becomes BATMAN.
THE DARK KNIGHT doesn't appear until the end when GORDON calls him that at the end.
THE PRESTIEGE doesn't appear until the end when the final secret is revealed.
It's a good take on the movie and my favorite so far.
this move it impossible to describe to anyone. But in one word BRILLIANT!!! It is the first movie I have seen in too long that requires you to think and question reality! Its so so so so so so so so so stupid that the films that deserve the awards most are usually the ones who get looked over while the stupid, pointless movies with horrible acting (aka The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) are the ones that usually end up recieving all of the attention
I've heard this saying that says ” All of the best plots/stories have already been told” With that in mind, I think what makes INCEPTION great and original is not the plot/ story in itself ( don't get mead wrpng, it was great) button was rather how Nolan, the actors and everyone else chose to interpret the story. That, in my opinion, was what made the story great and original.
Description of “Inception” promised an interesting movie.
If we would only knew!.. I rarely watched anything more repulsive: a good idea being converted to a commercial shit by director Nolan. The movie is just a shocking “trach-bah-bah” shootout – one of those making from a teenage (mostly) audience a bunch of idiots. Sound track (I cannot call this “music”) was equally disgusting, but, fortunately for myself, despite this overwhelmingly loud sounds and senseless shooting, I fell asleep after first 2 hours. Talentless garbage – that is my appraisal.
Concernig DiCaprio: he converts to a commercialized actor. I can't imagine Klein, for instance, taking such a role, even for 10 millions, but.. Klein has a good taste and intelligence.
I do not see, even closest to DiCaprio, Brad Pitt playing in such cheap production.
Sincerely,
T. V. from Illinois
This movie reminds me of Thirteen Floor more than Matrix.
The fact that “Dream inside a Dream” vs “Stimulation inside a Stimulation” is no different.
By Klein I assume you mean Kevin Kline, who, was in Wild Wild West, and was paid millions for it. You now have no point or argument to base your opinion on.
It's also interesting that you feel confident in critiquing the films action sequences when you fell asleep with 30 minutes left of the film, leaving plenty of space for you to have missed the point.
What is the thing called that Dicaprio use to check whether he is in the dream or reality?
Just seen Inception…easliy one of the best films i have seen in recent years.
The visuals truly made my jaw drop! There have only been 2 films that had that effect on me, one was the original Matrix and the other was on Television X…but we wont go into that…
Anyway, getting to the point of this letter, as I was watching Inception, I could'nt help think what would happen If the person whose dream was being invaded…had a wet dream? It must be an occupational hazard…
*awkward silence*
Just thought i would share that musing!
Bye!
Finding a smart big budget summer movie is like meeting a smart blonde with big bazooms. Rare, but always worth the price of admission.
Mybe Nolan ended like that for a reason.Part 2?
Maybe if the film was even longer they could have squeezed in some more gratuitous violence or some more agonizingly meaningless scenes. Perhaps adding a few more “layers” may help to hide the lack of substance by seeming to be a intelligent story line. The best part was that it finally ended.
watch it again, and stay untll the end of the credits
a totem
am i the only person feeling that cilian murphy's Incredible acting job is not getting enough credit? I understand that everyone in that movie did a fantastic job spanning from Berringer to Leo, But I don't believe we can forget to mention that murphy is brought into the movie half way through, has to play a rediculous amount of emotional adjustment in a very small amount of time and manages to do so very elequently considering the intensity going on around both In film, and with amazing co-actors.
just a thought.
This review made me smile since it so accurately describes how I feel after watching this amazing movie. Thank you for articulating what my mind was too blown away to be able to summarize. Great Review
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING!! have you ever heard of a little movie called the MATRIX!!! watch a movie child!! im 15 years old and can already see in my short life what the movies Hollywood is shitting out are terrible plots with bad acting…seriously you can call this the best movie…sure i can admit the special affects were unbelievable but WOW Leonardo DiCaprio has seen better days and acting gigs…
yr only 15 with such little experience… grow up child
So, if this is a thinking man’s film, what does it make you think about? So far, all the comments seem to be about the craft of movie making. 2001 A space odyssey, make me think about man’s quest for knowledge and his place in the Universe. A Clockwork Orange made me think about the relationship of man and society. One Flew over the Cuckcoo’s Nest make me consider that maybe the inmates are sane and the doctors are the insane. Even Easy Rider gave me plenty of food for thought. So is Inception an important film, or is it just really entertaining?
It’s far more than just entertaining. It’s extremely layered and almost unbearably honest. I’m even comfortable with the “brilliant” description.
It’s an intense summary of what our minds deal with everyday in this chaotic world … what influences our decisions and overall perspectives (love, guilt, rejection, politics, etc.). Most importantly, it does a beautiful job of glorifying truth and its wisdom.
The action scenes and special effects only compliment how fascinating the intricacies of this movie really are.
bravo Sir bravo
Well, I’m not a sir, but whatever
.
the concept of the movie was gr8.the idea of how an idea can be a parasite….to ur own happiness….its not just about dreams…even if u know sm1 too close…we can know…how there mind works…we can use oders trust to incept their…change their view…like ideas, thoughts, and beliefs behave as if they are alive in the mind. When ideas grow and link together with other ideas they become big stories and can have multiple points of view and tangents. Large story ideas intertwined with emotion act more like dreams. There are daydreams when we are awake, and dreams in our mind when we are asleep.
Great job, man!!!
It’s far more than just entertaining. It’s extremely layered and almost unbearably honest. I’m even comfortable with the “brilliant” description.
It’s an intense summary of what our minds deal with everyday in this chaotic world … what influences our decisions and overall perspectives (love, guilt, rejection, politics, etc.). Most importantly, it does a beautiful job of glorifying truth and its wisdom.
The action scenes and special effects only compliment how fascinating the intricacies of this movie really are.
The wise man is one who proves what can be an “irrational thought” to be rational. Christopher Columbus thought the world was round, and everyone thought he was crazy, but we all know the world is round right? Everyone thought his claims were completely illogical=irrational, but he truly was a genius for establishing that. This movie makes me think about reality itself. This whole movies idea could be happening to us right now, in the sense that we can think it. Reality is hard to understand by some people. The ones who can comprehend reality are the ones who understand what “pre-intellectual” reality is. In order to understand what that is, you have to imagine that everything you see is the past, because a stimulus has to occur (which takes “time”) in your brain, in order to percieve you’re perceptions of the world around us. The direct moment I touch anything is already the past because it takes the stimulus (“time”) for me to comprehend anything thats being thrown at me. Thats what I was thinking during this movie. A Clockwork Orange is supposed to relay that freedom is key to living. The Ludovico Technique takes away freedom, and free will in young Alex. One FLew Over The Cuckoo’s nest is telling us to rebel against totalitarianism. (Patients vs. Ms. Ratched.) I think Inception is an important AND an entertaining film to those who seek to have a destiny in this Chautaque. Im not saying you’re insights to those movies/books were irrellevant, but thats just what I thought of when i read your post. This movie is important AND entertaining in my opinion.
To me Inception makes me think about our perception of reality. It’s rather interesting the more you ponder all the different aspects of it..
And just to all those people saying that this movie is nothing compared to the Matrix, i assume your only comparing action scenes as that’s all your dull brains can manage to take interest in.
TCU is Buzz Killington.
15 years old…..
Hmm yeah dont post on here anymore little girl.
There was so much to say about this movie i gave up on trying to write it as a comment. Ended up writing blog post about it at:
http://blog.simplytatydesigns.com/2010/07/incep…
Certainly unique.
I would have to disagree that the ending is clear. If so why are the kids the same age, same clothes, and even the same position.
It is hard to take you seriously when you have trouble spelling, your favorite movie is the matrix (whose lead star is one of the worst high paid actors of these past decades), and you think Leo is past his prime. His acting is only improving and we keep learning how versatile of an actor he can be.
dont its fukin borin and confused
“dont its fukin borin and confused”? I was going to try to help your sentence out, but really there’s no point. Learn to write a proper sentence before trying to comment on how good a movie is. For now, your opinion is null and void because I don’t even trust you enough to formulate a decently smart reply.
I’ve noticed that more than half of the bad reviews are from people that didn’t understand it. It’s like appreciating art. Some people have the eye and some people don’t. However, all you need to enjoy this movie is a proper grasp of the English language and enough attention span to follow the story line. Come on guys… take some ritalin or just force yourself to focus =)
I’ve noticed that more than half of the bad reviews are from people that didn’t understand it. It’s like appreciating art. Some people have the eye and some people don’t. However, all you need to enjoy this movie is a proper grasp of the English language and enough attention span to follow the story line. Come on guys… take some ritalin or just force yourself to focus =)
its not about not understanding it. The film did a decent job explaining it without boring you with the explanation, just throwing the information at you and going with it. The problem is its just complex enought to make alot of ppl think ” oh man thats so deep and complex ” but it really isn’t that complex and if you take a step back its just a bunch of stuff exploding or falling apart with loud music thrown in. The introduction to the plot was weak to me, (not the inception concept). It was a good movie, it wasn’t a great one like this review tries to make it out to be.
Totally agree with you on this I expected a much more thrilling movie. The Idea was good the story and charactors, and the action scenes should have been better and could have been much better. Not the soppy story of him and his wife and kids.
I agree with you on that. I just got back from watching it. It was not that hard to understand or guess the intention of the movie. Perhaps there is an limit of what you can expect from HOLLYWOOD MOVIES.It would fun if the concept would be applicable in real life. ” we go to the movie theatre to watch the movie and in the beginning of the movie there is layer of messages that put us to sleep and we dream and each see a different dream. At the end we wake up because of a loud sound and we realize that the movie has not started yet”
I agree with you on that. I just got back from watching it. It was not that hard to understand or guess the intention of the movie. Perhaps there is an limit of what you can expect from HOLLYWOOD MOVIES.It would fun if the concept would be applicable in real life. ” we go to the movie theatre to watch the movie and in the beginning of the movie there is layer of messages that put us to sleep and we dream and each see a different dream. At the end we wake up because of a loud sound and we realize that the movie has not started yet”
I dont like this response…………
You just have no Imagination.
i completely agree..glad somebody feels the same way
I am one who has a hard time understanding some movies, sometimes, and I understood it, I don’t it was too confusing, you had to live in their world, and it would all make sense.
I did not find this movie interesting. It is boring and confusing.
Even though I spent most of the movie with my tongue down the throat of an incredibly hot piece of trim I still managed to understand 98% of this movie. The virgins here putting negative posts up have no excuse for being confused, you just have a low intelligence level…
Agreed! I was incredibly drunk with some friends of mine getting taken care of and still caught the whole thing and found plot holes….
Finally a post thats true!!!!!!
you forgot no imagination =)
Finally a post thats true!!!!!!
you forgot no imagination =)
If you didn’t find it interesting, it means you didn’t understant anything, and this means you are a big dumbo!
Inception is a good movie but the actions as mentioned by the reviewer were not that outstanding. But it is true that Levitt will be appearing in more action-flicks in future… It is for sure.
Sharpen your mind and then watch again
although the theme of the movie is kinda complex, it’s not really that hard to grasp. in fact, my 11-year old daughter understood it well and even enjoyed it more than salt.
The movie was great if your into virtual reality “INCEPTION”, so give us a break for being a bit unatentive to the story line okay. No one want to go to a movie and figure out trigonomitry.
Overated movie, boring action scenes, boring dialogue, the actual sound and theory sounds much more interesting than the movie actually is, Some of the theory and science fantasy is actually clever, but not impressed by the story what so ever found it dull. Two many characters not enough personality’s brought forward. To say this is better than the matrix what a joke. It didn’t confuse me in anyway or use my brain that much either in the way I expected from this review but I don’t see the point in the whole movie? can someone enlighten me and don’t give me plant an idea irony bullcrap thank you.
WTF!? … LMAO!!!
Inception is a film beyond comprehension….its a film that you have to see at least twice to really get it. It’s the best movie that I didn’t understand.
obviosly u’r to dull to understand the plot if u were unimpressed with the story i found it very engaging. and the point of the movie for those of us who understood it was just somthing to bend ur mind around.
totally right. this movie made a over-stretched mess of a great idea. I love action, SF and fantasy movies but at the basis of it all you have to be drawn into the movie, relate to the character/s in order to go along with their journey. In this movie I didn’t really care about what happens to them – I think as someone has already mentioned the introduction to the plot was poor, they gave up too much at the beginning, and the way that the plot unraveled just seemed to go nowhere. I just didn’t feel the characters were real, and at no point did i forget I’m in a movie theater – so how people compare this to the Matrix is beyond me.
OUTSTANDING!!! LOL!
hey retard its boring and confusing NOT confused… go back to 6th grade that was an awesome movie just cause you dont have the patience to get through it
YES!!!!! PERFECT!!!!
hey retard its boring and confusing NOT confused… go back to 6th grade that was an awesome movie just cause you dont have the patience to get through it
i would like to share something with you.. i am sure u dnt understand movies concept so u said its boring……. sir/mam.. try to catch every world in movie then only u can undrstnd wts d movie….
it is boring for you because you are confused and probably do not understand the movie is just great but at the end frustrating…
I’m always amazed that when people don’t have anything constructive to say they resort to using fowl language to make their comment seem more meaningful…
They’re just a bunch of dumb clucks.
Maybe your mind is too simple, Ch.
If “Cobb” is maybe from the future, then you, Sir/Madam are from the past. I mean, really, who writes like that?? I know they allow you to have crayons there, but I didn’t know they would allow you to mis-use a computer. “…borin and confused…” now there’s an example of the pot calling the kettle ….
If “Cobb” is maybe from the future, then you, Sir/Madam are from the past. I mean, really, who writes like that?? I know they allow you to have crayons there, but I didn’t know they would allow you to mis-use a computer. “…borin and confused…” now there’s an example of the pot calling the kettle ….
only simple minded people think this was boring smh
You didnt understand it then fuck tard
You didnt understand it then fuck tard
the worst movie i have ever seen. absolute shit.
but if u observe closely ,the children were wearing the same dress in dream and in reaity??
And also the children don’t seem to have aged in the entire time he has been ‘on the run’ which I think is a number of years.
And the children’s grandmother is the main caregiver, you would think she should be in the final scene (if it were reality). Especially because the grandfather picks up Cobbs at the airport. You can’t leave young children at home to babysit themselves.
And the children’s grandmother is the main caregiver, you would think she should be in the final scene (if it were reality). Especially because the grandfather picks up Cobbs at the airport. You can’t leave young children at home to babysit themselves.
that’s not true. If you observe their shoes in the dream and in the ending, they are different. Also, he would have never known the faces of his children as Cobb” did not look at his children before he left (saw only the backs of them). However, as Cobb returns to his home, the children’s faces are revealed, supporting the case that Cobb is in fact back in his home, in reality.
no but you have to understand, the top kept spinning, and Cobb said when it falls it helps you realize that you’re not in a dream anymore. the thing that kept me thinking was the fact that it didn’t fall.
An amazing film, quite complex but not so that my 11 year old couldn't grasp the story. It is like no film I have ever seen before and I was caught up in it right from the first scene. Go and see it.
Actually, I think you have it backwards. The entire movie was most certainly a dream. This is why the children were always wearing the same clothing, were in the exact same position as he remembered them, and so on… Heck, notice how in the airport everyone stared at him, as if HE was intruding on a dream? The whole movie was Cobb trying to pull an Inception ON HIMSELF. For him to trick himself into believing this. His wife Mal certainly killed herself and woke up to reality, he just doesn't wan tto believe it. The projection of Mal is almost certainly his consciousness trying to tell him he is INDEED dreaming. What a great movie.
** EXTREME SPOLERS**
I think Kdnato is right. The movie was a dream. Nolan gave too many hints about it at the beginning of the movie. Some thug grapped Cobb and said “You are not in the dream now are you?” How did the thug know personal stuff about Cobb? Copps own mind tries to hold the illusion of reality inside a dream. Other clear tip was when old man in the Chemists cellar looked at Cobb and said something like “You would know all about dream becoming more real than reality”. That is Cobbs mind trying to wake up? These were clear tips and should have peen more subtle in my opinion. The ending is not open but closed and ingenious! Nolan tries to leave audiense in dream where cradle falls and the ending is happy. And that was the whole idea of the movie. Mind choosing more pleasant reality rather than actual reality.
Actually the old man says “The dream has become their reality, who are you sir to take that away.” I don’t think that would be enough to say that the whole tihng is a dream and his sub conciousness trying to tell him to wake up. Also the only people who looked at him oddly at the end were the people he just had a major experience with, with the exception of the cop who can also be explained away if you look at it like this: the cop would have run a check on Cobb to see his imigration status and probably would have seen that he was recently wanted for murder. Something else that keeps the whole movie from being a dream is when Cobb goes to the old Saito in the 4th level of the dream to bring him back to reality, then after that when he sees his children’s faces – like someone else mentioned, it would not be possible for him to see their face as he never actually got to see them, that’s why their faces were always turned away in the dream. You also can look further into it when you look at what happened between Cobb and Mal, they grew old together inside the dream, and when they woke up they were young again, that’s a clear indication of waking up, Besides that I don’t think one could perform inception on ones self, how can one give oneself a genuine idea while knowing you are attempting to give it to yourself? Besides that the whole movie was in trying to perform Inception on someone else, not Cobb.
I think everyone is over thinking this way too much. The movie was not a dream because Cobb is the one who came up with the idea to kill themselves by getting hit with a train. He understood it was a dream world and he couldn’t see his children’s faces in the dream. The fact that they were wearing the same clothes means very little. The director only did this to try and make you question the movie like you are doing know.
Nothing happens at the end of the credits… its a nice rumor though.
Everyone needs to stop acting like they know the answer to the movie considering it was left 100% open ended. All theories seem completely reasonably considering what we learned and saw from beginning to end.
I loved the dream where Ellen Page folds the wall and does the mirror thing