The premise behind "Inception" is an intriguing one. Director Christopher Nolan the action-genius who brought audiences popular movies such as "Memento" (2000) and "The Dark Knight" (2008) creates a world in which people have the power to enter one another's dreams. Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an "extractor," a thief who enters into people's minds while they sleep in order to steal secrets from the victim's state of unconsciousness. When corporate mogul Saito (Ken Watanabe) hires Cobb to perform an inception in which he would plant an idea in the victim's mind rather than stealing information Cobb recruits a team and embarks on an action-packed mission into the mind of their target.
Not only is the job technically harrowing and perilous, it also forces Cobb to confront his dark past and his own demon-riddled subconscious, haunted by memories of his femme fatale deceased ex-wife, played by the beautiful Marion Cotillard.
Nolan first began brainstorming the plot for "Inception" over nine years ago, basing the concept of the movie off of ideas about lucid dreaming and reality that he has had since he was 16, according to Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times. Nolan spent over nine years writing the script for "Inception" but completed filming in a little over six months.
The end product of these efforts is an expertly-executed movie, with excellent acting from all members of the all-star cast. DiCaprio is the perfect protagonist mentally intelligent but emotionally flawed, guiding others while desperately trying to find a way home.
Ellen Page is spot-on as the quirky and slightly obnoxious Ariadne, who is hired as the architect that constructs the dreamscapes which allow the team to trick their marks. Joseph Gordon-Levitt acts as Arthur, the competent point man and Cobb's close friend. Tom Hardy adds comedic effect as Eames, the Forger, who impersonates various people of the victim's subconscious. The overall chemistry between the cast is palpable throughout the approximately two-hour film and with the snarky quips and jokes is very "Ocean's Eleven"-esque.
"Inception" earned a not-so-shabby 87 percent of positive reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, garnering a "fresh" rating, and an average score of 74 percent on Metacritic.com. If the plethora of Inception-inspired Facebook statuses that plagued my newsfeed for weeks were any indication, the Dartmouth public loved it, too. While "Inception" itself is interesting, the meta-commentary about its reviews and reviewers is equally absorbing. For those that missed the blog buzz, stellar reviews released before the film reached the general public. The consensus is that "Inception" is an enjoyable watch, but some critics have also hailed the film as a masterpiece. In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times Richard Roeper gives "Inception" a perfect "A+," calling the flick "one of the best movies of the [21st] century." Pete Hammond of Box Office Magazine writes that, "in terms of sheer originality, ambition and achievement, Inception' is the movie of the summer, the movie of the year and the movie of our dreams."
These praises were met with several pretty negative rebuttals that criticized early admirers for unnecessarily lauding a shallow, flashy production. Well-known critic A.O. Scott wrote in his review for The New York Times, "Though there is a lot to see in Inception,' there is nothing that counts as genuine vision."
Having seen "Inception" after hearing all the hype of how amazingly mind-blowing the film would be, I have to agree that the movie is quite good, but not nearly the seminal film of the century as some reviews and Facebook statuses would have you believe. "Inception" is a definite must-see summer blockbuster that is original and fascinating to watch, but watching it hasn't revolutionized my outlook on reality.
