Inception Review

I'm nearing the end of Christopher Nolan's filmography. This is my second to last review before I post my thoughts on my most anticipated film of the year, Interstellar. This was the review that I was most looking forward to. And you know why that is? It's because Inception is my absolute favorite film of all-time. That's right...let the Nolan-fanboy remarks begin!

I love this film for so many reasons. There are plenty of objective things that I love about it, and I will be sure to lay them out in this review. But, there's also a subjective side to my extreme fondness of it. No other movie blends its characters, script, special effects, and music in a way that I enjoy as much as Inception. There's just something about it that really does it for me.

For starters, the acting in this film is close to flawless. Leonardo DiCaprio leads an illustrious cast with a really great performance. Joining him are names like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, and Cillian Murphy. All of them do excellent jobs in their roles. Hardy has always stuck out to me in this movie. His character is probably my favorite of the group and his performance is awesome.

There are so many things for me to talk about with Inception. I'll just get the technical stuff out of the way. The effects that Nolan employs are absolutely stunning, and there are times when I literally can't help but drop my jaw or widen my eyes at some of the visuals. In addition to being pristine in their appearance, the effects and set pieces are amazingly inventive. Whether it's an entire city literally bending in half or a fist-fight in zero gravity, Nolan and company have gotten creative with it. Far more creative than the average blockbuster.

Hans Zimmer's score for Inception is one of my favorite film scores. It can be big and epic, it can be small and intimate, it can be thrilling, it can be sad. It can be just about anything. Zimmer's work on this film proves once again that he is ultimately the John Williams of his generation. I can't wait to hear his new score for Interstellar.

The time, effort, and thought that was put into the script and the premise of Inception blows my mind. Just watching this film is an intellectual exercise. I use my brain to comprehend all the concepts and ideas in Chris Nolan's terrific script more than I do for the entirety of Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich's collective filmographies. Every scene is filled with dialogue that is ripe with thought-provoking notions about dreams, reality, and the manipulation of consciousness.

I find the whole premise of the film to be very compelling. I've always been fascinated with the concept of sharing dreams and have often found myself dwelling on the structure and meaning of dreams. Nolan handles it all very well, and as I said, some of the theories he uses and thoughts he provokes are incredibly intelligent.

One of the things I find very interesting about the dream worlds that the characters enter is the control that the architects have over everything. As Page's character points out, it's "pure creation". They can ultimately do whatever they like, even to physics. I think we've all wondered what that would be like at one point in our lives or another.

The extraordinary thing about Inception's script is that, if you were to read it out of context, the lines might seem a bit strange and forced. Lines like "His subconscious has been militarized". I don't think many people just casually say stuff like that. However, the world-building by Christopher Nolan is so well-realized and the lines are delivered so well by the performers, that you really don't even notice it while you're watching it. Everything feels natural and in its place.

All the characters in this movie are thoughtfully and skillfully made. When combined with the exceptional actors portraying them, you really start to feel a connection with them. You genuinely care about them and their quest. This helps strengthen the emotional payoff, which is already strong on its own.

I think that's something that often gets lost about Inception. People like to praise its action and effects and music, but I think the power of its emotional core is just as prominent as those things. It all starts with Cobb, DiCaprio's character. The side-story of his relationship with his wife and his kids is so tender, and so emotionally powerful. I can't help but shed a tear at least once while watching this film. There's a strong emotional pulse that comes from the reconciliation between Robert Fischer and his father. That hospital scene is surprisingly powerful, and almost always makes me tear up.

A lot of discussion has been made about the ending and the final seconds. There are some people that don't like it, and others that do. I am squarely in the latter group. Not only is the ambiguity consistent with the entire film up to that point, I feel that the fact that Cobb doesn't look at the spinning top suggests that he doesn't care any more. He has found his way back to his family, and that's all that matters. That look of joy on his face when he sees his children displays his sense of relief and redemption. He has finally made it home. I find that very heartfelt, and a perfect emotional punch to end the story.

I'm kind of scrambling to choose what to talk about in this review. If you couldn't tell by now, my thoughts on the film are so plentiful and so in-depth that I would be here all day if I wanted to put down all of my thoughts. I may do a more comprehensive and spoiler-filled post about Inception at some point in the future. There's just too much I want to say to do it in one review.

Inception is so many things rolled into one masterpiece. It's a thought-provoking and detailed study of dreams and the concept of sharing dreams. It's an extremely compelling character study that engrosses you in the plot and the situations that the characters go through. It's an emotionally powerful and heartbreaking love story. It's a wildly entertaining adventure film in the vein of Indiana Jones and Star Wars. It's an innovative and richly exciting action spectacular with grand special effects and set pieces. It's a mind-bending and endlessly inventive movie that redefines what a summer blockbuster can and should be. Perhaps most important of all, at least to me, it is my favorite movie ever.

Sitting down and watching Inception is an event to me. I look forward to doing it again the second after I finish rewatching it, and probably go back to it every couple months or so. I can't get enough of it. As much as I'd love to see a sequel with Chris Nolan and the principle cast members returning, and as much as the world of the film is capable of holding a long-running franchise, the film is so perfect on its own. I wouldn't want anything to taint it. I'm content with the one movie, as funny as that sounds.

A+