Christopher Nolan’s creation falls short in the heavy-handed suspense film Inception. With ponderous self-importance, Inception is a ticket to a headache.
The originality of Inception, many great performances and excellent visual effects don’t overcome the clutter enough to create a truly enjoyable movie. Inception should have been much better. Nolan took the psychological surrealism too seriously.
Nevertheless, Inception won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, an expert thief who is specially trained to extract valuable information from the subconscious minds of targets by accessing their dreams. He assembles a team to help him on a new mission, including a dream architect Ariadne (Ellen Page). Wealthy industrialist Saito (Ken Watanabe) has hired Cobb to implant an idea into the mind of a rival businessman Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy).
The main incentive for Cobb is Saito’s promise to return him to his children at the successful conclusion of the mission. It’s one last plunge into the nefarious, multi-leveled dream layers for our hero.
The screenplay’s heavy emphasis on the labyrinth distracts significantly from character development. After an all-too-brief look at the characters, we are subjected to dizzying explosions, shoot-em-ups and earthquakes that fill the film. The dangers of this imagined world are so overplayed that finally we become numb. Sharper editing could have saved the day, especially during the film’s final hour.
Visually Inception is ambitious, especially in an enjoyable, M.C. Escher-like scene where Cobb and Ariadne walk amidst a collapsing Paris streetscape.
An excellent cast is led by DiCaprio and Page. Marion Cotillard undulates between life and half-life as Cobb’s troubled, dead wife Mal.
If you like Inception, you might enjoy: The Ghost Writer; Shutter Island; The American.
Inception 2010 / PG-13 / 2 hours, 28 min
Cast Overview: Leonardo diCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Pete Postlethwaite
Director: Christopher Nolan
Genres: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Suspense/Thriller
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