Inception

"Inception"
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotilliard, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
146 minutes

After two proper viewings of this Summer's already most talked about film, which as I'm writing this, has only been out for four days, I'm ready to relay images and ideas into words.  Most of the critics and bloggers who have already written and posted their reviews have taken a great liking to the film. Some, believe it's a mishmash of ideas gone completely astray. There seems to be no middle ground in terms of the general reactions of viewers, you're either really involved in what the film as to offer, or you can't invest yourself into the world Christopher Nolan has created.

At its heart, "Inception" is a heist film, some detractors have reacted negatively to the film following some of the tropes and themes of that specific genre, Peter Travers from Rolling Stone proclaimed the film as "James Bond meets The Matrix." It has some scenes reminiscent of a Bond film, and some of the same cinematic laws  as "The Matrix," but "Inception" is its own beast, and Nolan's own original and daring creation.

At the beginning of the film, we are quickly introduced to Dom Cobb (Dicaprio) and his work. By the looks and  feel, the film takes place sometime in the near future where Corporate espionage is at the forefront of global business market. Key players are looking to gain a leg up on competition and will do anything to come out successful.

Cobb is a master extractor, the best in the business at entering into people's subconscious and learning their secrets, he trades this information to the assumed highest bidder seeking the information. For reasons the film goes on to explain later, Cobb has been extradited from the states where his two young children yearn for him. An ambitious businessman named Saito (Watanabe) comes to Cobb with an offer that will wipe his records clean if the proposed job is executed. Saito proposes inception to Cobb, which entails breaking into someones mind and planting an idea that the subject will think they developed themselves. The subject is Robert Fischer, heir to a powerful company that Saito wants diminished. Revealing anymore about the job would be a disservice.

The first act of the film is where detractors are picking at to find flaws. Many complain of excessive exposition  that spoon feeds the audience. Sure, there is a way to tell the audience less, but the screenplay doesn't go completely out of the way to guide audiences. As the film moves along, its layers rapidly reveal themselves. The exposition gently introduces the viewer to the laws and rules of the films universe.

Cobb develops a team that will perform this mission. Some of the young faces include Ariadne (Page), a brilliant architect, Arthur (Gordon Levitt), the stone faced point man to Cobb, Eames, (Hardy) a master forger, and Yusef, (Rao) a master chemist. The team must infiltrate Fischer's mind and plant the idea in a limited time frame for the mission to work.

The execution of the films many scenes is what makes "Inception" a better than average heist film mixed with some heavy sci-fi themes. Nolan is able to bend back the top of a skyline as the architect Ariadne would imagine it. Trains running through busy streets, a zero gravity fight in a hotel hallway that steals the show. But, Nolan has much to learn in regards to shooting action. Taking a look back at other action scenes that Nolan has constructed, even in "The Dark Knight," their is no clear cohesion or unity within the shot, it's hard to process who is where, and what is going on. This rears its head again in this film, some shootout scenes are hard to decipher, but there are only one or two that stick out.

Not only does the film plays with dreams, but also with memory. There is a key subplot involving Cobb and his wife Mal (Cotilliard) that gives the film its emotional identity. Some critics have called the film cold, but this particular relationship and the arc that it provides is always interesting and works well. Cotilliard's unstable Mal is given little screen time, but is a true presence in the film.

Their are some other key actors cast in the film, with little screentime they're used properly to round out the cast. Michael Caine plays Cobb's understanding father in law, Tom Berenger shows up as a counselor to Robert Fischer, and Pete Postlethwaite plays Robert's father Maurice. Mostly all of the cast are on their game here, each has little back story, but with the films aggressive pacing it would have slowed the adrenaline shot the film provides. There is much more to say, but the film is all about going in fresh and adapting to its tone and nature. Many secrets await the unknowing viewers and their eager curiosity. With a film like this, many are seeing it just to keep up with the conversation.

"Inception" is nowhere near a perfect film, but its positives outweigh its obvious, but well intentioned flaws in a strong way. Christopher Nolan has always crafted stories where the main players are obsessives looking to find redemption, with "Inception," Dom Cobb is no different, and its an extreme pleasure following his team and their mission inside of this maze filled frenzy where anything and everything are possible, the true essence of cinema.

Grade: 4/5