Inception (2010) User Reviews

A one-of-a-kind mind-blowing masterpiece!

[adrien_ngoc_1701 · 10/10 · 1 March 2019]

My 3rd time watching this movie! Yet, it still stunned my mind, kept me enjoyed its every moment and left me with many thoughts afterward.

For someone like me, who've rarely slept without dream, it's so exciting watching how Christopher Nolan had illustrated every single characteristic of dream on the big screen. As it's been done so sophisticatedly, I do believe the rumour that Nolan had spent 10 years to finish the script of Inception. In my opinion, it's been so far the greatest achievement in his brilliant writer-director career. I jumped into this conclusion after making a quick benchmark of Nolan's remarkable works:

• Memento, as his first signature in the cinema history, is tremendous and has stayed the most mind-bending film I've ever seen. But overall, it doesn't reach the same level of Inception.
• The Prestige is highly impressive but somehow I haven't been able to find the very particular "Nolan's spirit" in it.
• The Batman Trilogy is the best superhero saga of all time and its peak The Dark Knight is no doubt a masterpiece as well. Nonetheless, every time we talk about it, Heath Ledger takes all the spotlights with his life-time-role: The (unique-and-only) Joker.
• Then there came Inception where Nolan truly stood out, having every single detail of his work done in the finest way. The multi-layered storyline despite its complexity, remains consistent and originally interesting. From visual aspect, everything was masterly handled: an impeccable cross-cutting allowed the movie to follow Nolan's nonlinear story-telling without being scattered; a wonderful cinematography work completed with incredibly imaginative visual-effects brought into life so many breathtaking scenes, some of them, I believe, will stay in the audience's mind for a long time (city bending in Paris, zero-gravity fight, in limbo, dreams collapsing...). In addition, Nolan had also a solid cast ensemble to help him deliver all of his messages.
• Later, we had Interstellar. Though I did admire its cinematography and visual-effects, the film itself is nowhere near the level of Inception.

SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!! For all who haven't watched this movie, you may stop the reading right here because the following paragraphs contain a ton of spoilers!

It is set in the world where there's technology that allows people to literally share dream. There is, in this world, a new kind of corporate spy - "extractors" who use this technology to infiltrate the target's subconscious and extract valuable information through a shared dream world. Our hero Mr Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a very well-known extractor, and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are approached by a powerful businessman - Mr Saito (Ken Watanabe) for a nearly impossible mission, something no one has ever done before : instead of stealing, he wants them to plant an idea in a person's subconscious, which is also called "inception". In return, Saito offers something that Cobb could never resist: a ticket to go home with his children by taking out the homicide charge against him. So Cobb and Arthur gather a team to carry out the mission: Eames (Tom Hardy) - a veteran identity forger, Yusuf - the only one chemist can make such a powerful sedative for such a complex 3-levels "dream within a dream", and Ariadne (Ellen Page) - a newbie but remarkably talented architect whose role is critical for the success of the mission. The target is Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) - son and heir of Saito's biggest competitor (Maurice Fischer, who's dying). The goal is to seed an idea into his mind which will make him abandon his father's business, and the team has to carry Saito as visitor in their mission to let him verify the result of inception. While the team go deeper and deeper into Fischer's mind, we discover gradually the dark of Cobb's past, as well as the 2 biggest why concerning our hero: Why he has became such an expert of inception and What is his desperate motivation for taking that insane mission.

The movie is not only about the inception mission but more importantly, about the struggle of finding the way in the maze of life. In Cobb's case, it's the maze of dreams built by his memories with his past wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) and his regrets. So as long as he let himself consumed by the past by blaming himself for the death of his love wife, it will keep coming back and haunt his present: the deeper the team go into dream, the more dangerous his subconscious, under the form of his ghostly wife, comes out and could anytime jeopardize the mission. Indeed, if we apprehend the movie with these 2 layers of its story, the ending scene makes perfect sense. Yes! We're now talking about that famous ending which has still remained one of the most controversial movie endings in the cinema history. Did Cobb find Mr Saito in limbo, bring he back to complete the mission then come back to his children in the real world? Or they are still stuck in limbo - the infinite dream world, and the last scene was just his big dream? But all of those question only matter in the first layer of the story: the result of inception mission. When we perceive the story in its deeper layer, as a journey for Cobb to let go of his feeling of guilt for the past and re-find the meaning of his life, this ending did fulfill its job. Cobb didn't even stay to see either if the spinning top would fall because he didn't care any more, what's important to him is that he gonna be with his kids. He did finally get rid of his haunting past and be able to move on, and that matters. And after all, dream or reality, the importance is to truly live. So from this point of view, he has solved the maze of his life.

Some short lines about the cast:

• Leo has done justice to our main character but he did not success to make a leap from his previous similar roles in Shutter Island and Blood Diamond.
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt could have been more intense, given the fact that he had the most astounding fight scene in the movie (zero-gravity sequence).
• There was something missing in Ken Watanabe's performance to portray the powerful man who sponsored the crazy mission. Maybe it was his English...
• Tom Hardy was OK but forgettable because his character didn't have any memorable moment though he had a lot of screen time.
• Ellen Page was really impressive, she did fully illustrate the cleverness and the keenness of the young brilliant architect. And personally, I did find a lot of charms in her acting.
• Cillian Murphy has also done a great job. Much more emotionally complex than just a target of the inception mission, his character Robert Fischer, at the end, was not so different than our hero Cobb. They both were struggling to find a way out of their own maze. If for Cobb, it was the painful past with his late wife; for Fischer, it was the grand shadow and the lack of recognition of his late dad.
• Last but not least, the one who impressed me the most was Marion. Mal was so beautiful and mysterious in a very unique haunting way, mostly with her speaking eyes! And for me, she is the most remarkable character of the movie.

Matrix but in dreamworld? Nah.

[clipturnity · 9/10 · 22 August 2010]

I'd like to keep my review rather to the point.

Pros: 1. its theme - dream is a fascinating topic to say the least. There are a lot of unknowns in dreamworld.

2. its plot - there are several sweet twists and unpredictable turns.

3. its edgy drive - although you know what's coming next, still you feel jumpy about it when it does.

4. its rapid storyline - the story moves fast from one scene to another, making the viewers feel like on a roller coaster ride. At times, it's hard to keep up, even after watching it several times.

5. its sophistication - there is a lot of information to remember and digest. This is the very thing the modern moviegoers are after, I believe.

6. its realism - okay, pun intended. The movie explains (or at least tries to) the ins and outs of what dream is about and how it functions, some of which are very familiar with and dear to us.

Cons: 1. its poor character development - although the acting was convincing enough there was not enough of character development. I wonder how many people really felt connected to the main character(s) after watching the movie. Yes, the movie talks about emotional struggles but it was more of an action film than anything else, if you ask me.

2. too many distractions - I found that the movie had more characters than necessary. They may play certain roles in the plot but they seemed more of distractions than anything else. I wish the movie was more focused.

3. a bit preachy - I noticed that the characters would explain things about dreamworld and then the exact things happen later in the movie. I'm afraid, Inception overused this trick.

In conclusion, its theme is fascinating but its delivery is not without room for improvement.

I highly recommend you to go and read Somewhere carnal over 40 winks, if you dig this kind of flicks.

Cheers!

Is it possible the makers understand how incredible this film is?

[srcooper-756-646671 · 10/10 · 22 December 2020]

You only get to watch this for the first time once, so choose your state of mind carefully. It is a film about movies and dreams and reality, and what sort of life it is best to find when you leave the cinema and return to whatever you left to enter. It is spectacular, and brutal, and enigmatic and disturbing. It is beautiful and absorbing. It is about one of my favourite characters ever to grace the screen. I don't see it often, in case it's not as good as I like to remember it. That is my secret, that I lock away in my safe in the basement. That somewhere there is a perfect world for us all. For some, perhaps it is in the cinema watching this.

Inception was only less shocking to me than the Matrix

[mrmocun · 10/10 · 9 August 2021]

When you wake up from a good dream, you feel the reality is harsh. When you wake up after a bad dream, you will be sentimentally attached to the beauty of reality. But as long as life is good, reality and dreams don't matter.

Generation defining.

[forzosky · 10/10 · 15 November 2021]

The 20th Century had Casablanca, Star Wars, the Godfather, Blade Runner, and others - this is the first of the 21st Century masterpieces. Truly in awe at how amazing this movie is, an astounding show of all aspects of films. Amazing story and cinematography accompanied with actors worthy of telling the tale. Remarkable and breathtaking.

Wait

[konradbuczak · 8/10 · 1 February 2021]

Wait, did i just watch this or is it just a dream?

Insanely Brilliant ! Nolan has outdone himself !!

[naman-avastol · 10/10 · 10 July 2010]

What is the most resilient parasite? An Idea! Yes, Nolan has created something with his unbelievably, incredibly and god- gifted mind which will blow the minds of the audience away. The world premiere of the movie, directed by Hollywood's most inventive dreamers, was shown in London and has already got top notch reviews worldwide and has scored maximum points! Now the question arises what the movie has that it deserve all this?

Dom Cobb(Di Caprio) is an extractor who is paid to invade the dreams of various business tycoons and steal their top secret ideas. Cobb robs forcefully the psyche with practiced skill, though he's increasingly haunted by the memory of his late wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), who has a nasty habit of showing up in his subconscious and wreaking havoc on his missions. Cobb had been involved so much in his heist work that he had lost his love!

But then, as fate had decided, a wealthy business man Saito( Ken Watanabe) hands over the responsibility of dissolving the empire of his business rival Robert Fischer Jr.(Cillian Murphy). But this time his job was not to steal the idea but to plant a new one: 'Inception'

Then what happens is the classic heist movie tradition. To carry out the the task, Cobb's 'brainiac' specialists team up again with him, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his longtime organizer; Tom Hardy (Eames), a "forger" who can shapeshift at will; and Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a powerful sedative supplier.

There is only one word to describe the cinematography, the set designs and the special effects, and that is Exceptional! You don't just watch the scenes happening, you feel them. The movie is a real thrill ride. The action scenes are well picturised and the music by Hans Zimmer is electronically haunting. Never, in the runtime of the movie, you will get a chance to move your eyes from the screen to any other object.

Leonardo, who is still popularly known for Jack Dawson played by him in Titanic, should be relieved as his role as Dom Cobb will be remembered forever. His performance may or may not fetch him an Oscar but it will be his finest performance till date. The supporting cast too did an extraordinary work. Christopher Nolan, ah! What a man he is. His work is nothing less than a masterpiece and he deserves all the awards in the 'Best Director' category. If "Inception" is a metaphysical puzzle, it's also a metaphorical one: It's hard not to draw connections between Cobb's dream-weaving and Nolan's film making, intended to seduce us, mess with our heads and leave an ever-lasting impression.

To conclude, I would just say before your life ends, do yourself a favor by experiencing this exceptionally lucid classic created by Nolan!

My Rating: 10/10

Thanks & Regards.

Inception has a lot of ideas and it doesn't do anything with them

[dario_van_kuschn · 6/10 · 20 July 2010]

I cannot ignore facts. I cannot ignore mistakes and plot holes, bad writing, or bad marketing. I cannot ignore hype, especially when it's already on the IMDb top 250, it received praise from critics, cashed in a lot of money, and people call it stunning and unforgettable. The simple truth is that Inception does not live up to the hype. Let me start with the trailer. All the coolest things (the folding city, the collapsing cliffs, the train in the street) are totally unessential to the plot. None of that takes more than a few seconds. So why did they put them on all the posters as well? Nevermind. I'll move on to the real problems of the movie.

So I heard all these people saying how complex the movie is. How I'll need to watch it twice. How the shocking ending will blow my mind. I knew exactly what that "shocking ending" would be half way through the film. The very last paragraph of this review deals with the ending. It's not exactly a spoiler but you can skip it if you don't want to know anything.

Cobb (DiCaprio) takes on a mission to implant a thought into Fischer's (Murphy) mind. As a reward, his contractor Saito (Watanabe) will clean his record with the LAPD. Cobb is wanted for the murder of his wife and consequently he can't return to USA and see his children. Throughout the movie, this is Cobb's main inner conflict, that before he fled the country, he didn't get a chance to see the kids' faces and he wants to see them again. Michael Cain has a very small role as their grandpa and DiCaprio's father-in-law. Why doesn't Cain take the kids someplace so they could be with their father? People move all the time. Or why doesn't he send Cobb some home movies if he wants to see their faces so much? They could even have video calls and all that stuff. It's a long distance relationship but it's something. Well, apparently no one thought of that, and so the main character's main motivation for his actions makes no sense.

As for acting, DiCaprio was good. But if you've seen Shutter Island, You've seen a third of Inception. Dead wife, small kids, a sense of loss, a pretty wooden house in a field, all those flashbacks Teddy had in Shutter Island… it's all in Inception. Minus the funny Boston accent.

The mission these mind thieves embark on is to plant an idea into a rich guy's mind. This is called inception. Hence the title, I guess. Everyone says it's impossible to do, so you know they are going to succeed in the end. Inception is essentially a heist movie, but instead of getting into a vault, Cobb's team has to get inside someone's mind – which happens to look like a vault. The supposed complexity of the movie boils down to the idea of a dream within a dream. Basically, imagine that once you are plugged inside the matrix, you plug yourself into yet another, deeper, matrix. There, I just explained the super complex plot of the movie. But in case that wasn't enough, there is Ellen page's character, Ariadne. She is the obligatory new member of the team that is introduced to represent the audience and their questions. I'm fine with that. Every movie has one of those uninitiated people. The thing is, she understands everything too quickly and becomes suddenly becomes the most competent character. Pretty convenient, if you ask me.

Let me finally get to the mission. It's the worst part of the movie. Watanabe wants Murphy, who just inherited a huge corporation, to dissolve it, because it was going to become a huge monopoly. So Watanabe hires DiCaprio to plant the idea of splitting the company in Murphy's mind. And so they do that. For two and a half hours. But I don't care if he splits the big company or not. Why should I care if Murphy has a bigger company than Watanabe? The stakes of the movie aren't high, they are nonexistent. I am not given any reason to care about whether or not they succeed. I'm only given more and more action set pieces to look forward to, and a lot of cool slow motion and zero gravity fights reminiscent of The Matrix, but I'm not given any reason to care for what is happening. I liked Watanabe's character only because I like Ken Watanbe. As for Saito himself, I don't give a damn if his competitor destroys his company or not. They don't tell us what consequences it would have, they don't show us what happens with the company, they don't do anything with this initial idea. Which is strange, because the movie is all about ideas being important.

Okay, so I didn't like the plot and the acting was nothing new. What about the rest? Hans Zimmer's unremarkable score works well with the scenes but it would be super boring to hear on its own. The visual effects are good but since all the coolest city-folding scenes were so short, there wasn't really that much to do. The zero gravity stuff was done well, I'll give them that. Cinematography was good, bordering on too much shaky camera.

Here's the paragraph about the ending:

The big ending is that you are supposed to be unsure what was a dream and what was reality. If it was real, then it's stupid because DiCaprio had dozens of ways to be with his kids without making things so incredibly complicated. The movie is supposed to make you think, but if you think about it the whole plot falls apart. If it was a dream, then it's a stupid cop out on Nolan's part. An excuse for all the things that didn't make sense. It was all a dream, so screw you, audience.

Can't believe it's rated this high

[jamesfoley-45668 · 5/10 · 4 December 2021]

That fact this movie has an 8.8 Rating shows people's desire to be perceived as being intelligent. This movie is unnecessarily complicated for the sake of being complicated. The story telling is terrible. If a character in a story has to tell the audience directly what the hell is going on the story sucks. A lot of Christopher Nolan's stuff is like this. Whenever someone hears criticism of Inception the first line of attack is "you just didn't understand it". I understood it, just didn't like the way it was presented.

Having said that Christopher Nolan has a lot of original ideas and some of his stuff is good. He is still one of the only director's today that uses practical effects. The hallway rotating scene with Joseph Gordon Levitt was a practical effect and was amazing. Scenes like that was the only reason I rated Inception a 5/10.

Answering all the questions with one answer: I feel guilt. ⭐

[EVON1TY · 10/10 · 2 March 2023]

When I first watch this movie, I was just shocked with it's twist. I'm not gonna mention details, because can't share any spoilers.

Simply this movie makes a complex story, that makes you question so many things. "Why he is keeping her in his dreams?" or whatever your question is answering with some well written line. That scene is the key to the whole movie. That line between Cobb and Mal answers all your questions at once.

That's why I like this movie so much. Some movies has that potential. Making a complex story that someone could answer with only one sentence. You're waiting for that line for whole content. But most of the contents (I mean movie or TV Series) are not managing that well.

Besides the greatness of the storyline this movie has a really great cast. So Acting Performances are also great. Award Winning Cinematography by Wally Pfister was too great. Original Scores by Hans Zimmer was brilliant. Visual Effects are unique. So not only the Screenplay but nearly all the technical details are great.

Inception; Christopher Nolan's masterpiece?

[siddhantadlakha · 10/10 · 15 July 2010]

Dom Cobb leads a highly skilled team, specializing in stealing secrets from people's minds by entering their dreams. When they are hired by a mysterious businessman, Cobb finally has a shot at redemption, but not before achieving the near impossible. Rather than stealing an idea, they must do the complete opposite: Inception. Planting the seed of an idea.

Inception has a multi-layered plot, quite literally in fact. It focuses on the emotional journey of its lead character, Cobb, but at the same time thrusts the audience into multiple levels of action packed story- telling, very distinct from one another, but all finely connected. It has been described by critics as "a film that rewards intellect", and I can assure you that it is exactly that. Director Christopher Nolan challenges the audience to keep up, and rewards those who can with a breathtaking spectacle, one that has the capability to leave you awestruck. The best part about it is that while you may feel you need to watch it again to be able to fully absorb the experience, chances are, you will probably want to.

Christopher Nolan brings his unique vision to the screen with the help of a star-studded cast, including the likes of Leonardo Dicaprio (The Departed), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days Of Summer), Ellen Page (Juno), Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies), Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins), and Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), as well some amazing photography by long time collaborator Wally Pfister. The thrilling music in the film is provided by none other than Hans Zimmer, who was also set the mood for Nolan's previous film, The Dark Knight.

While it may seem simple at its outset, Inception is an extremely complex film, delving deep into the subconscious of the human mind. Technical brilliance and visual splendor have rarely blended together as beautifully. The emotional depth and explosive action complement each other perfectly, delivering a film that is at the same time both heart- wrenching and heart-pounding. It's a film that manages to engross you with its complexities, yet comes together seamlessly, and will have you at the edge of your seat, quite literally from start to finish.

Inception is magnificent.

Didn't win Best Picture? WHAT?

[Ch4ndler_B1ng · 10/10 · 8 February 2020]

Inception is as original as you can get with a sci-fi movie. I feel like it's kind of pointless to compare this to Blade Runner, Aliens, Terminator 2, 2001: A Space Odyssey or any other sci-fi blockbusters, for they're completely different. What Nolan crafted is genius, in my mind he is still yet to make a bad movie, it is now time to get into spoiler territory.

Inception is a story about dreams, how you can build anything you want, Nolan took 10 years to write the screenplay and it was definitely worth-while, this is one of the most mind-blowing, nail-biting, epic action packed science fiction movies of all time. All the performances in this film are amazing, the special effects are flawless, the acting is flawless, the story is flawless, the writing is flawless, this is one of a few pictures that just got everything right in all categories, most people saw there is no such thing as a flawless movie and I would 100% love to disagree with them there, all of the Christopher Nolan movies I have seen so far have no real flaws. Leonardo DiCaprio+Christopher Nolan= pure gold, these two should definitely collaborate more, Inception just proves that Chris is a cinematic God, from his screenplays, to his production, to his film direction, everything is perfect!

You have to imagine it to believe it. Watching it once isn't enough, watching it twice isn't enough, you have got to watch this 10 times or even more to really get the true essence of why this movie is considered to be one of the greatest of all time. It is truly film-making at it's greatest! It is one of the most re-watch-able movies a director has ever put out! It's like Dark Knight, Memento and most of his other work where immediately after you watch it you feel like watching it again.

At times it gets confusing because sometimes it feels like it's the real world when it is actually the dream world and Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, oh my god! In my opinion it is his greatest performance. And Inception SHOULD HAVE WON BEST PICTURE! Fun fact: This film got nominated for Best Screenplay and many other Oscar nominations, yet they don't nominate the man who put it all together who DIRECTED THE GOSH-DARN MASTERPIECE!

I watch this film at least twice a week and to see that Watchmojo put Social Network higher than Inception on their Top 10 Movies of the Decade list p*sses me off! Yeah, it's David Fincher, I get that Watchmojo love David Fincher, but higher than Inception? NAH!

If anybody else directed this it would be an average, unoriginal and completely unimaginative piece of work. When Nolan gets his hands on something it is always going to be original, classic and everything great about movies. I'd place this on my top 5 films of the century list, most films on that list would include Nolan films because he is the best director working today and you have to accept that.

More will be added soon...

In a Decade, "Inception" May Be A Religion

[D_Burke · 10/10 · 13 July 2010]

Films about dreams and the subconscious are usually not very straightforward and almost always weird. "Inception" is no exception to that rule, but like its cinematic predecessors who have explored the contrast between and the questions of what is real and what is illusion (i.e. "The Matrix" (1999), "The Cell" (2000), "Abre Los Ojos" (1997) & its American remake "Vanilla Sky" (2001)), you really can't look away, nor should you.

"Inception" is an excellent and breathtaking movie that may be one of the only films released so far during the Summer of 2010 that lives up to its hype. It is a nearly perfect and highly original film that holds your attention until the credits roll. The less you know about this movie going in, the more you will be entranced by seeing it.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a world class criminal who, with the help of a team of sleep experts, works his way into people's subconscious and steals what people value most: ideas directly from their minds. In his last assignment to possibly clear his name, he is assigned not to steal an idea from someone, but to plant one inside that person's mind. The difficulty comes when certain people are trained to block their ideas from being taken.

That plot summary only covers the basics of this pretty complicated story, but to describe every plot detail would take away the magic of this film you must see yourself to believe. DiCaprio is good in his role, but unlike many other films he has starred in, this is perhaps his only role where his character alone does not carry the weight of the movie on his shoulders or share it equally with one other co-star. Instead, this great ensemble cast teams together to make this movie work, just as their characters collaborate to pull off such a unique heist. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, and Tom Hardy are especially good in their roles.

The special effects in this film were also very good, which is amazing considering their simplicity compared to the "Matrix" movies. There are slow-motion shots, but no impossible kung fu fighting sequences. It's especially interesting when the film gets into the architecture of certain dreams, and impossible sequences are filmed in a way I've never seen other than in drawings.

However, the special effects would mean nothing if the story wasn't good. For this reason, even something as simple as a spinning top holds your attention in a way you would never think it would when seeing it in this film. The credit here can be given to writer and director Christopher Nolan, who has not made a bad film yet. There are many twists and turns in this film, but Nolan never loses his focus in the process of telling the story. If Nolan does not get nominated for Best Director and/or Best Original Screenplay next Oscar season, there is something terribly wrong with the Academy.

That being said, there was still a lot about this film I still don't get, and may require multiple viewings to better understand. However, some of the best films I've seen are confusing at first. "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) is a film I've seen a couple of times, and still don't understand completely. It still has a major following, though, as I'm positive this movie will. It's an incredibly entertaining movie, but it also makes you think and continues to do so after you leave the theater.

Nolan at his most intelligent best.

[marcusdean118 · 10/10 · 13 July 2010]

Inception is truly one of a kind. A concept which has long gestated in Christopher Nolan's mind, his eye for drama mixed with his large scale sensibilities ring true in Blockbuster season making Inception a true original in the sea of reboots, remakes and sequels.

To try and explain Inceptions many plot twists and incredibly intelligent arcs, would be a foolish task. As Nolan himself has been reluctant to. The best way to approach the film would be with an open mind, if you are prepared to be taken on a ride of a lifetime, then trust that you 100% will. If Avatar was a seminal film in technology (although coming out as a rather poor film, in my opinion), then Inception is seminal in it's storytelling. With a 148 minute running time, you would expect a lot to take place, but what you wouldn't expect is the pace of it all. I did not think at one time in the film about how long was left. I was simply blown away by the depth in every single part of the film. If my enthusiasm for the storytelling aspect of the film has left you worried about the spectacle, then don't worry. They are, as hinted in the trailer, incredible, looking real and unbelievable simultaneously. The most pleasing thing about the action set pieces, is that they are genuinely used to illustrate the story, rather than to blow stuff up a la Michael Bay.

With this complex movie in it's high concept, a stellar cast is needed. And Nolan as always, delivers with just that. This is vintage DiCaprio, perhaps only equalled in The Aviator, which is even more impressive as his role as Cobb in Inception is not a showy one, needing DiCaprio to be the constant at the centre of the film. And he pulls off Cobb's emotional contradictions sublimely. The rest of the cast members all shine in parts of the films, Cillian Murphy shows off his usually non-existent tender side, Gordon-Levitt bottles his usual charm for his confidently reserved turn as the reliable Arthur, Watanabe is devilish as the seemingly ambiguous Saito, Page shows why she's the next big female star and Tom Hardy revels in being the comic relief of the film compared to his recent turns as decidedly psychopathic characters.

Overall, Nolan has indeed surpassed himself. He has created a world as expansive as his Gotham, a plot dwarfing the intricacies of Memento and one which blows The Prestige's cinematic reveal out of the water. This is truly unmissable cinema. Revel in it, we've still got to wait a whole two years before Batman 3.

My number one favorite movie

[lhbaker-28783 · 10/10 · 4 June 2021]

Inception is my number one favorite movie off my twelve years on earth! It's absolutely impossible to explain the incredible that Inception has. Inception is Sooooooooo dang exciting, edge of seat, mind blower, and I wish there were more movies like it and more Christopher Nolans out there. Congratulations to the well deserved best director, writer, and producer of films (in my opinion). Also the acting is fabulous, everyone did an amazing job, and Leonardo was fabulous at explaining the dream concept. Also the CGI and effects are amazing. Go watch Inception because it is incredibly amazing in every aspect, and is my number one film of my twelve years on earth. Bravo to the Inception crew and wow at this fabulous movie!

Mindcraft...

[Xstal · 9/10 · 31 March 2023]

There are those who seek to dive into your mind, take your secrets and whatever else they find, espionage, conspiracy, infiltration, skulduggery, through worlds that are all conjured, well designed. They've been asked to plant a seed, start an idea, change the course of an industrialists career, but it needs dreams within deep dreams, an architect to build the schemes, and the consequences, could be quite severe.

Imaginative beyond words, elegantly crafted and constructed, presented and performed by legends of the screen with a great storyline that keeps the viewer constantly engaged and on the edge of their seat - what more do you want out of movies.

Good idea lost in the noise

[Carl_Tait · 5/10 · 25 July 2010]

The central idea of "Inception" is an interesting one: technology exists to enter other people's dreams in order to steal their most private secrets or to implant new ideas. With Christopher Nolan of "Memento" fame as writer and director, this should have been a smart, compelling movie. Unfortunately, "Inception" is a bloated failure.

The root problem is that Nolan replaces the fascinating surrealism of dream worlds with lengthy outtakes from James Bond movies. For example, early in the film, when Cobb and Ariadne are sitting at a café in a dream world, Cobb tells Ariadne to stay calm. What's going to happen? Is the waiter going to bring her a glass full of wriggling eyeballs? Is she going to turn around and see her best friend from high school having sex with Abraham Lincoln? No. THINGS START EXPLODING. And that's the whole movie in a nutshell: gaudy special effects and endless fight scenes as a poor substitute for imaginative ideas.

The matryoshka-doll plot of dreams within dreams isn't nearly as hard to follow as one might imagine. This is largely because nothing of consequence happens at higher levels once our heroes have moved on to deeper levels. The higher-level supporting actors just fight off bad guys -- and overblown special effects -- until it's time to bring back their colleagues from the depths.

Nolan should sit back, watch a few of the best movies by Luis Bunuel and David Lynch, and try again with one-tenth the budget and ten times the imagination. (Okay, that's never gonna happen, but it's *my* dream.)

Incredible-Nolan keeps improving and Inception is by far the best improvement!

[drakula2005 · 10/10 · 9 July 2010]

I saw Memento very recently, something that turned out to be a great miss.I saw it again, just to make a couple of thins straight-and i'll definitely do the same with Inception.

Christopher Nolan keeps improving himself, with even more complex and multilayer script like this.And i thought Memento was hard to reach by most of the viewers, but no.Inception will keep you mesmerized and captivated by the genius, that's hidden behind it.And not just directors and screenwriters (or with other words-Nolan), but with acting and sound-and effects and editing as well.

When you have a cast like this-i mean Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Lewitt, Michael Caine, or Marion Cotillard (a personal favourite), the movie just keeps going flawlessly.Most of the crew is the same the Nolan brothers worked with on TDK and earlier in Batman Begins.So the Oscar noms in those categories are a certainty for me.

The only thing one could have against the movie, is the headache one could have.See, most of my friends go to the movies for brainless action, they enjoyed Iron Man 2 and The A-Team, but this movie-you have to see it at least twice, to understand it.The levels and the layers on which thing are happening are so many, that one surely'll miss something vital.This is a reason for not fitting to the mass audience, but i hope that won't happen, because Nolan is one of my favourite directors/writers, and he showed, that the brainless action flicks aren't all of it.There are still movies like Inception out there and still people like the Nolans to make those movies, so it's not all lost.And i hope this movie could show the audience that the story is still important for the experience one could receive, not the endless, constant explosions.Because this is really a one of a lifetime event.

Saying that, i must say, that in a world full of remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels and God knows what, this is a unique chance to see something different and unmatched so far-a strong movie, that, surely will be Nolan's latest masterpiece! My Grade won't change-it's the same for all Nolan movies-sheer 10!

Perfect for Sci-Fi Fans

[mollyshelhamer · 10/10 · 18 November 2021]

Christopher Nolan's "Inception" (2010) is a complex science fiction thriller about a group of people with varying specific skills that create a perfect team of dream-sharers. Dom Cobb, the main protagonist, is an extractor who is able to find out people's secrets by intruding into their dreams. His right-hand is Arthur, who researches and plans what they are trying to accomplish in a dream. Bright graduate student Ariadne is the architect for the dreams, meaning she literally constructs the physical aspects of a dreamscape. Eames is a professional at turning into anyone else in a dream, almost like shapeshifting. Lastly, Yusuf is a chemist who creates perfect concoctions of sedatives to achieve ideal conditions for the dreams to take place. This elaborate combination of characters is asked by a rich businessman, Saito, to infiltrate his dying competitor's son, Robert Fischer's, dream and place an idea in his mind so that Saito's business can become more successful. Traveling through the layers of someone's mind and making them think of an idea on their own is what they call "inception." Cobb is dedicated to making this happen so that Saito can arrange for Cobb's return to America to see his children. Without Saito, Cobb would not be able to return to America because of his alleged criminal background, but Saito has connections and power to clear his name. Some members of his team think achieving inception is impossible, but Cobb convinces them to be on board and they must come up with a mastermind plan with no room for error to achieve this extremely difficult yet imperative task. They begin a three-layer plan that involves elaborate depths of the dream dimension, taking advantage of Fischer's sensitive and dysfunctional relationship with his father, practiced methods of leaving a dream and entering the next, all while trying to avoid Cobb's wife Mal who lives in his subconscious and often sabotages his plans. The shocking ending leaves viewers at a cliffhanger and fans theorizing.

Now that I've gone over the plot, let's talk about the other components of the film. The marketing strategies did an excellent job gathering hype for the film. The movie poster features the famous actors that everyone was excited to see, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Elliot Page, and the rest of the dream crew. It also says "Inception" in a large red font and notes that is directed by the same director of "Dark Knight," which was an insanely successful and highly rated movie that was premiered two years prior to Inception. Dark Knight scored a 94% on rotten tomatoes and is #112 on IMBD's most popular movie list. This likely drew in the audience from Christopher Nolan's movies and set a high expectation for the quality of Inception. Another great marketing move was the contents of the teaser trailer. The trailer features a brief voiceover of Leonardo DiCaprio and amazing scenes with impressive cinematography taken out of context that show the viewers the production value and exciting action contents of the film all while confusing them so that they go see the film when it is released. I think the shock factor and science fiction aspect of the trailer is owed to the scene where a city block starts to fold over top of itself.

The content of the film stayed true to the marketing because the cinematography, directing, and acting is quite well-done. Starting with the cinematography, the zero gravity scenes and cityscape building from the ground up were very realistic looking and intensified the movie watching experience. There was a lot of attention to detail. The directing of Inception is very montage based. It draws amounts and amounts of suspense. For example, the montage near the end of the film with the van, the fortress, and the hotel was painfully long but created such thick suspense. For the acting, I only have compliments and no complaints. Inception was casted beautifully and everyone fit their roles perfectly. Leonardo DiCaprio did an excellent job as Dom Cobb, especially in the emotional scene with his wife and two kids in one of the dreams. My personal favorite performance was Cillian Murphy's role as Robert Fischer. He played as his character really well and he captured his relatively constant sadness surrounding his father situation.

Inception is a staple film in the science fiction genre and is similar to a few other sci-fi movies as well. Inception is at #135 on IMBD's most popular movie list and has a rating of 87% on rotten tomatoes, so there is no doubt about its quality. In my opinion, Inception is pretty similar to the well-loved movie "The Matrix" (1999) starring Keanu Reeves. They are both iconic science fiction and action films with themes of alternate realities. The second film I think is very similar is a more recent film, Tenet (2020) with Robert Pattinson. Tenet is also about bending the rules of science and is also directed by Christopher Nolan. If you enjoyed either of these movies, I recommend Inception. I also recommend it to general fans of Christopher Nolan's directing, so if you have watched and enjoyed any of his films, you would probably like Inception too.

On my rating scale of one to five, with one being the worst possible score and five being perfect, I give Inception a five. It has no weaknesses in my opinion. Every aspect of this movie combines into perfection. The acting and cinematography is what takes it over the top, and I am a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and Cillian Murphy in all of the roles they play. This is a movie I have voluntarily watched multiple times and it only gets better with each watch. It is very complex and a complete experience to view. My favorite aspect of the film is the ending. Many people say they hate cliffhangers, but I enjoy them because it leaves it up to the audience to imagine. Basically, you can choose your own ending based on what you think makes the most sense with the facts you are given in the film.

Amazing Directing, Captivating Plot, Overall Great

[howemonika · 10/10 · 12 July 2010]

I had the privilege of seeing this movie before it came out, and, like most of DiCaprio's films, it blew me away.

Inception is a well-made movie, filmed in about 6 locations all over the world. The directing was outstanding, there were only about two moments, maybe three seconds in total, where i noticed that visual effects were being used (of course defying gravity is pretty difficult).

The plot was very pleasingly intricate, with a twist-and-turn, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat type feel. I noticed that this film had similarities with DiCaprios thriller Shutter Island (which i also enjoyed very much)seeing as it left you wondering what was real and what was not. It's great to see a movie with a thick and emotional plot and not just grenade-throwing action heroes who achieve greatness in the end.

Inception also has a very well-composed score, which to me was the finishing touch to a perfect movie. If you're thinking about seeing Inception, definitely go! Even though i was fortunate enough to see a free show, it is worth every penny you pay.

Truly unique, like nothing i've ever seen before. Christopher Nolan certainly covered new ground with this film and wasn't afraid to leave us hanging with a spectacular ending.

Nolan's first true masterpiece

[technofunkie · 10/10 · 12 July 2010]

Usually I try to be careful with over hyping a film, or setting the expectations too high, as film geeks all are guilty for, however for Christopher Nolan's Inception, this really is not possible.

This is possibly one of the only perfect films I have ever seen. It is absolutely confident in every way, something which is extremely refreshing, even more so than Avatar. Christopher Nolan gets some slack for making great to look at but ultimately heartless affairs, which I for one do not agree with, however I do not think anyone can argue that here. The emotional aspect of this film not only ties it all together but is really the centre of this film, it is the focus.

I do not want to over simplify the film, by simply calling it Kubrick doing Bond, or Gondry on a huge budget, because I am sure it will be called that but it is far more than that, it is something I do not think Kubrick could have ever made. It is pure Nolan, and pure greatness.

I hate writing something which is pure fan-boy gushing, but its really difficult here. I did not find a thing I did not like about it, I am sure if maybe I saw it a second time, maybe I would find something about it I didn't like, but not the first time. The way it is cut, means that there is always action on screen, if not, then the visuals are interesting enough to keep your eyes glued.

The final hour of the film, is possibly one of the most complicated action sequences put on film. You have to constantly be paying attention to remember all of the layers of what is happening. Without spoiling anything, all I have to say is that is what this film is about, that is what makes this film so great, layers. Once you have seen this you will now what I am talking about.

All of the actors are fantastic too, Di Caprio is the stand out here. Yes, this is probably due to the fact he is the star and given all of the emotional weight, but he handles it perfectly, similarly to his performance in Shutter Island. Ellen Page, whom I usually hate, gives a great performance here. Tom Hardy gives a break out performance here, he is quite the bad ass.

I hope audiences are ready for a film like this, a pure auteur driven film which does not sacrifice a single frame for the studio. I would hope this film will change Hollywood, as it is 100 percent the directors vision yet it is definitely a marketable film, much like District 9, yet I do not think it will.

I cannot recommend this film anymore than I have, I just have to say everyone and anyone should see it. Sorry about all the gushing, it is just so hard not too.

If you liked this review check out my new film blog: http://thedeletedscene.wordpress.com

The perfect summer blockbuster?

[chaaa · 10/10 · 12 July 2010]

What do we ask for in a summer blockbuster? What is it that incites hysteria this time every year for whatever dross the studios churn out? Epic hugeness? Blowing stuff up? Romance? Action? Heroes? What are we looking for in a blockbuster? I think it all boils down to thrills! Audiences want the thrill of a car chase, the thrill of romance, the thrill of the spectacular! If that is the case, then Inception just might be the greatest summer blockbuster of all time as it also contains something we often don't look for...brains! "What is the most resilient parasite? An idea" says Leonardo Di Caprio's character Cobb. Well, Inception is all about ideas. It's all right there in the title. The film central idea revolves around "Extractors", who are paid to extract secrets from people's subconscious minds by sneaking into their dreams, usually for the purpose of corporate espionage. However, when one client asks them to plant an idea in the mind of their corporate rival, "Inception" is born. The less said about this film the better. It is full of ideas and invention and for each set piece I divulge, a piece of the film's genius is weakened. This is a film that cleverly and intricately brings the audience through several planes of existence simultaneously but never allows the viewer to feel lost. Such is the power of Christopher Nolan's script which, I imagine, is likely to get overlooked due to the sheer visual magnificence of his direction. But everything that makes this film so great is in the script...in the ideas! Everything else is just spectacle. This film bears an uncanny resemblance, thematically, with DiCaprio's other instant classic this year, Shutter Island. Both films investigate in depth the tricks a traumatised mind can play on the individual. Both films are luscious to watch and both films keep the audience firmly outside the realm of reality. However, Inception is an even more layered film than Shutter Island and I believe the sci-fi genre setting will prove to be less alienating for audiences than the prison noir of Scorsese's film. There is not a single dull moment in Nolan's film. There is style, charm and intelligence in every frame of the film. Every performance is pitch-perfect with some strong support by Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt particularly who have grown up right before our eyes into undeniable movie stars. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a typically flawless performance as the muddled, grieving man who we never quite trust to be living in the real world. The best part of Inception is the large amount of effects which were done in camera. While the film does make use of CGI, there are some pretty mind-blowing practical effects which are as simple as the camera telling beautiful lies; a rare treat these days. This is a blockbuster that ticks all the boxes; smart, sexy (femme fatale, sexy brainy girl, very beautiful men in very beautiful suits) and magical. Inception is the kind of film that reminds me why cinema will never die. Because anyone who thinks it's OK to watch this film on a laptop or iPad is a fool! This is pure cinema, and proud of it. Not to be missed on the big screen!

Sci-fi perfection. A truly mesmerizing film.

[dvc5159 · 8/10 · 15 July 2010]

I'm nearly at a loss for words. Just when you thought Christopher Nolan couldn't follow up to "The Dark Knight", he does it again, delivering another masterpiece, one with so much power and rich themes that has been lost from the box office for several years. Questioning illusions vs reality usually makes the film weird, but Nolan grips your attention like an iron claw that you just can't help watching and wondering what will happen next. That is a real powerful skill a director has. No wonder Warner Bros. put their trust in him, he is THAT good of a director, and over-hyping a Christopher Nolan film, no matter what the film is about, is always an understatement instead of an overestimate like MANY films before.

Not since the eras of Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky and Alfred Hitchcock has there been a more brilliant director than Christopher Nolan. He is, undoubtedly, one of THE most brilliant and gifted Hollywood filmmakers in history. Filmmakers like him come but just once in a lifetime. He has the ability to seduce our eyes, ears and most importantly, mind, and then delivers what he intends to deliver in full blast. Rarely have blockbusters have the gall to deliver such amounts imagination and intelligence at the same time. And yes, it is similar to the excellent anime film "Paprika" in the whole "invading dreams" plot, but the similarities end there as Nolan brings the film to a whole different level.

Visuals and intelligence rarely come together in movies at the same time, it's either all-visuals-no-smarts ("G.I. Joe", "Transformers") or the exact opposite ("Doubt", "Invictus"). In this film the excellently directed action sequences combined with immensely groundbreaking and jaw-dropping visual effects are combined smoothly with a heavy dose of intelligence and believability.

Although having an ensemble cast and financed by a Hollywood giant studio (Warner Bros), this film is a very personal film for Nolan, he wrote the film as well as directing it, and as you watch the film you get many glimpses of Nolan's perplexing, increasingly imaginative thoughts and dreams in the dialog that he writes and the plot that he sets up. Ideas have never felt more interesting and put to good use than in this film. This film is NOT for the popcorn muncher, rather it is a film for thinkers. Honestly I can't explain the plot for fear of spoiling the movie for you readers. Even the slightest hint will ruin the experience. The viewer will walk out of the cinema feeling dazed, confused and ultimately breathless. It's like a puzzle, both physically and mentally, and you have to pay attention throughout the film for the clues. However Nolan controls the spectacle of the film and is careful not to let it overwhelm the film's humanity, and this is where "Inception" shines. It is a very deep film that will have one thinking and asking questions for years to come. That's right, years.

Once the film ends, you'll want to watch it again, for there's something new every time. This is a film that requires multiple viewing for someone to truly comprehend the film's ambiguous themes, and will be discussed by many in the future. This is an original film, no adaptation, no sequel/prequel, no remake/reboot, which is extremely refreshing having gone nearly three years of mostly unremarkable visual effects roadshows ("Avatar" be damned).

Of course, a film is not complete without the actors. Leo DiCaprio delivers an Oscar worthy performance, similar but better than his previous effort "Shutter Island". He shows glimpses of a flawed, grim, fragile man, who has knowledge about everything else but yet can't seem to come in grips with himself and his demons. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Marion Cottilard, Pete Postlethwaite, Lukas Haas... Nolan really brings out the best in this unusual yet extremely talented group of supporting actors who make their roles their own.

Nolan is of course, a master behind the camera, a real virtuoso when it comes to film. His direction is taut, focused, gripping, and extraordinarily fascinating. The detailed and complex original script is no surprise from Nolan, considering the fact that he turned Batman the superhero into pop-culture art two years ago ("The Dark Knight"). The action sequences are unique, exciting and fresh, something absent from the cinema which has since been interested at things popping towards the screen and stuff blowing up every two milliseconds. The visual effects are awesome and imaginative, and best of all they do not bring down the movie's quality one bit, rather it makes the movie more fascinating to watch. The cinematography is absolutely, beautifully shot, so we can see the action and emotion in all their glory. Production design is top notch, with terrific design of sets and locations. Hans Zimmer's complementing music score is simply outstanding, and knowing the man, that's really all I have to say. Together all of these elements combine to deliver a mesmerizing movie experience like no other this year.

Christopher Nolan has once again outdone himself. He truly is a gifted filmmaker, arguably the most imaginative in Hollywood today. And "Inception" can proudly stand alongside "Blade Runner" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" as science-fiction masterpieces that push the boundaries for movie making and become a different experience altogether.

There are two types of films: the crowd-pleasing blockbuster and the intelligent indie/art film. Nolan has combined two of these tropes together into one exceptionally brilliant package, pulling off that rare, now nearly-extinct Movie Magic that has since been wiped off the planet by sequelitis and reboots. Movie of Summer 2010? Movie of 2010? Heck this is possibly the first masterpiece of the decade! Nolan is a genius and I applaud him for treating his audiences as intelligent people.

Missing this film and not getting the film's point is a crime.

Overall value: 9/10 (Excellent)

Amazingly original...but also a bit overwhelming.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 2 December 2010]

This review is being written by a 46 year-old guy. I mention this because clearly this is a film where age is important, as younger folks probably will enjoy the movie more--and can take the fast-paced action and frenetic pace. I assume older audiences probably will be a little less amazed and a bit overwhelmed with the film. Just something to consider as you read this.

As for the movie, I'll be up front about the fact that I did NOT love this film. It's just not the sort of movie I'd usually see and only went because my oldest daughter nagged me to go. I am glad I did, however, as I really could respect the movie in many ways. First, the story is wildly original (though, also quite confusing). Other than the Matrix films, I can't think of anything that even comes close to it in style. Second, the production looked and sounded great. The music was intense and worked great with the amazing, totally amazing, special effects. Third, it was nice to see so many kid actors show that they are NOT light-weights and could act. Leonardo DiCaprio is no longer the pretty young thing he was in "Titanic"--his maturity and grit were welcome. Also, seeing the kid from "Third Rock" suddenly playing an action hero was great--you'd barely recognize him--or the other grown child actors. Fourth, I loved the ending--it really pulled everything together very well.

So why am I not giving the film a glowing review? Well, I am simply not an action film fan. And, the insane pace, TONS of shooting and crazy plot simply lost me at times. I much preferred the slower and more introspective moments of the film. Also, while Ken Watanabe is a fine actor, I had a devil of a time understanding a lot of what he said--to the point where I wish they'd either dubbed him or had caption! Now this is NOT just because I am an old crank who is slightly hard of hearing--my daughter, too, found his thick accent difficult. On the other hand, Ms. Cotillard was VERY easy to understand and I was surprised how well she controlled her lovely French accent.

I could probably go on and on about the film--as it's long, complex and VERY prone to be one to watch and re-watch and discuss with friends. However, at this point, there are already a bazillion reviews and 7 billion people have already gone to see it, so I'll call it a day.

Well worth seeing....but perhaps too frenetic and confusing for many.

Christopher Nolan continues his climb to the top... of the most overrated directors list

[hot_action_ninja · 7/10 · 8 December 2010]

If there was ever a film to label as "overrated", it would be The Dark Knight. If there was ever another film to label as "overrated", it would be Inception. I just don't understand what it is about Christopher Nolan's films but they have the tendency to receive large amounts of unwarranted and undeserved praise.

While they are very well-made films, they are for the most part nothing more than entertaining popcorn flicks (Memento being the one exception). Popcorn flicks of the up-most quality but nothing truly memorable or deep. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, lets get on with the review.

Now, basically, Inception is a heist film with a twist. The heists take place inside of a dream, thus allowing for some creative and tricky special effects to be pulled off. These effects are pretty amusing to watch, most notably a scene where the gravity of a hallway is shifting and the two actors are duking it out amidst the gravity shifts, and this makes for some impressive-looking chaos.

The story while somewhat original, wasn't pulled off as smoothly as it could have been in my opinion. There were just far too many plot holes that you could drive a tank through. Now with a certain proper ending, these plot holes would diminish, but Nolan has yet to confirm just what the ending means so the plot holes are left intact. If you want a better idea of what I mean by that, PM me.

Acting for the most part is good and gets the job done. Just don't expect anything Oscar-caliber here. If there was one stand-out performance in Inception, I would definitely say it's from Leo Dicaprio. The guy proves time and time again that he's one of the better young actors working right now. The rest of the cast gives passable performances, but nothing special. Michael Caine is wasted, and I feel the only reason he was hired was to get his name on the box.

Not much needs to be said about the special effects. They're some of the best yet, and at times even creative. Possibly the strongest aspect of the film, next to the effects, is the musical score. Inception has one of the best scores in recent memory. My hat is off to Hans Zimmer. The effects, score, and flawed but intriguing story come together in making Inception a very enjoyable and entertaining film. It's definitely smarter than your average popcorn flick, but at the end of the day it's still just a popcorn flick. Nothing more, nothing less. It lacks the emotional punch and attention to detail that made District 9 so great (now that's a true masterpiece, and one of the greatest sci fi films ever made).

I give Inception 7.5/10 and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun film that will also make them think a little bit.