Sean_Rhodes
"A Dream You Don't Want to Wake Up From"
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Rating:
***SPOILERS AHEAD!***
+4
Months of hype has led to the final unleashing of Christopher Nolan's newest creation - Inception.
You know...the one with Leonardo DiCaprio, the chick from Juno, the dude from (500) Days of Summer & Brick, the guy from "Bronson", and some other old British geezer.
Nolan's latest project explores - as you may have guessed by now - the "architecture of the mind". Literally.
Now I must say that, yes, I did enjoy the film. However, based off my first viewing, I am a bit dismayed and what Inception failed to pursue further. The basic premise is god-damn fascinating and held an infinite amount of promise by itself. Yet, it seems if Nolan held back some punches.
Before I go any further - seeing that Inception is definitely an "above average" film I am just going to be nit-picky here and through together a short list of qualms I had with the film [based on 1 viewing]:
1. Everything felt...curt. - granted this may be the effect Nolan was looking to achieve as you jump between dreams before getting kicked back. However, I felt the thing that most suffered from this curtness was the character development specifically. The characters are seemingly thrown in accompanied by a brief job description but then nothing else happens - there's no further development of individual characters other than Dom. Subsequently however, at first I did find Ellen Page's character as kind of useless. She's dragged in, plays with some dreams, and then creates a maze that we never see or hear of again. Nevertheless, she does stand as an interesting foil within the film and seems to require repeat viewings to further investigate her role in the film and how she interacts/mirrors the audience.
2. The whole adventure felt rather trivial. Sure, there were a few tense moments, but once you realize that dying only results in waking up from the dream world & that Dom is basically Jesus and able to bring back people from Limbo...theres no real weight behind all the "danger" and gun battles. Furthermore, the whole plot demanding that Dom & Co. pull off this Inception is left (more or less) unexplained. He works for a faceless company, fails said faceless company's mission, is hired by another faceless company to screw over another faceless company for no other than reason than for Dom to do it for his kids & because mind-theft is completely bad ass. Really? Why the hell should I care about aforementioned companies?
Oh...and the whole ethics issue...with you know...implanting an idea and changing an innocent persons whole outlook on life, depriving them of free will all for the sake of capitalistic gains...ya...what the hell is up with that? Are all of Team Dom completely callous and devoid of any morals? Ya? Sweet. I think Nolan missed out on a big opportunity there to dive in and explore those philosophical & moral dilemmas - it could have added a much needed dynamic to Tom Hardy's & Joeseph-Gordon Levitt's characters.
3. The Dream world. Ok, ok, granted - Nolan did pull off some spiffy Escher-esque effects and got to play around with some physics. (Buildings rolling in on each other? Hell ya!) But I really felt he could've made the dream world stand out more stylistically. Now I am not saying he needed it to be some bad acid trip landscape with a shit load of colors and Gaudi buildings. I just wish he explored more of the dynamic dimensions that are innately embedded within the concept of a dreamscape. The whole idea of time and rate of time was well played - so too was the dynamic shifting gravity that was influenced by the state of the Dreamer's body and environment. Well done there.
I just think with the limitless capacity presented by our minds - Nolan could have dived further into inter-dimensional & spatial relationships within the manufactured dreamscapes.
BOTTOMLINE
I still appluad the Nolan for delivering a fantastic movie. Despite its shortcomings and missed opportunities I firmly believe that repeat viewings will only further unveil hidden nuances embedded within the film, opening up a big can of analytical rants and discussions for a long time to come. I know I am sure as hell ready to sit down and watch it again. It is a deeply intriguing film and definitely thought provoking - which I am always a fan of. In the end, Nolan's dreamscape layer cake is definitely entertaining - and by that fact alone - it stands as a successful film in my books.
Leave some comments and lets rant & speculate about manufactured theories - I'd love to hear some other thoughts on the film!
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After the highly-successful “The Dark Knight” which defined the way comic book movies should be made, one wouldn’t be hard-pressed to expect nothing but the best from Christopher Nolan. “INCEPTION” has generated a strong buzz ever since the trailer debuted in previews and the worldwide web; after all, this film is written and directed by Nolan himself and with his “Batman” team assisting in the film’s production, it seems like the … more
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Let me start by saying i don't watch many movies, I'm not a big sci fi buff, and as I'm getting older, maybe I'm just getting a little crotchety. I'm very aware that by coming out and being the ONLY one Lunch who is giving Inception a negative rating, I'm opening myself up to a lot of questioning and judgment... but that's okay because I know the community will respect my differing opinion and not ridicule me for expressing it. So here goes: … more
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review by Stephanie_Smith19.
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Inception is a rare breed of movie. Firstly, it came out in July and thus can classify as a summer blockbuster, and secondly, it does not insult the intelligence of the audience and actually takes a few brain cells to keep up with it. It's incredibly well-acted, it has an original story in a time when they are becoming harder and harder to come by, and it's a movie that will definitely be apperciated come awards time. It will probably win more awards for its technical accomplishments, and … more
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After the wild success of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan reached the ranks of movie making freedom that so few directors reach. So what did Christopher Nolan do with his golden key? Made a movie he'd been wanting to make for ten years. Inception. A movie where your mind is the scene of the crime. It's big, it's complex, it's beautiful... and it's absolutely amazing. For those who are sick of adaptations, sequels and remakes, Inception … more
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Going into Inception was kind of a gamble for me as my friends and colleagues apparently know me better than I thought. I’ve been hearing this is the “one to check out” since the day it arrived in theaters this past summer and while my friends have once again proven spot-on with their understanding of the kind of fiction I enjoy, it is always worrisome when so much hype comes my way. I have to make a very conscious effort not to get swept up in it, as … more
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About the reviewer
swisschez
landscape_architecture major - lets talk some theory film_aficionado - lets talk bout some fantastic movies
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About this movie
Inception is a 2010 American science fiction film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a thief who extracts information from the subconscious mind of his victims while they dream. Unable to visit his children, Cobb is offered a chance to regain his old life in exchange for one last job: performing inception, the planting of an idea into the mind of his client's competitor.
Development began roughly nine years before Inception was released. In 2001, Nolan wrote an 80-page treatment about dream-stealers, presenting the idea to Warner Bros. The story was originally written as a heist film, inspired by concepts of lucid dreaming and dream incubation. Feeling he needed to have more experience with large-scale films, Nolan opted to work on Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight. He spent six months polishing up the script for Inception before Warner Bros. purchased it in February 2009. Filming spanned six countries and four continents, beginning in Tokyo on June 19, 2009 and finishing in Canada in late November of the same year. Composer Hans Zimmer scored the film, using parts of Edith Piaf's song "Non, je ne regrette rien".
Inception was officially budgeted at $160 million, a cost that was split between Warner Bros. and Legendary ...
view wiki
Development began roughly nine years before Inception was released. In 2001, Nolan wrote an 80-page treatment about dream-stealers, presenting the idea to Warner Bros. The story was originally written as a heist film, inspired by concepts of lucid dreaming and dream incubation. Feeling he needed to have more experience with large-scale films, Nolan opted to work on Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight. He spent six months polishing up the script for Inception before Warner Bros. purchased it in February 2009. Filming spanned six countries and four continents, beginning in Tokyo on June 19, 2009 and finishing in Canada in late November of the same year. Composer Hans Zimmer scored the film, using parts of Edith Piaf's song "Non, je ne regrette rien".
Inception was officially budgeted at $160 million, a cost that was split between Warner Bros. and Legendary ...
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Marion Cotillard,
Lukas Haas,
Cillian Murphy,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Ken Watanabe,
Ellen Page,
Tom Berenger
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Genre:
Fantasy,
Sci-Fi
Release Date:
July 16, 2010
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Screen Writer:
Christopher Nolan
Runtime:
148 minutes
Studio:
Warner Bros. Pictures,
Syncopy Films,
Legendary Pictures
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As with Resident Evil, I think that is a zombie movie and not a sci-fi film. It's elements of sci-fi was pretty low.