Inception Review '" the Reality of Dreams

Many an Inception review will tell you that this is the best movie of the summer, and many more Inception reviews will stress the film-making genius of Christopher Nolan and the acting of Leonardo DiCaprio. You will also stumble across an Inception review or two that claim this is one of the best films ever made. This Inception review will focus on none of those things. Still interested?

The Setting - Dreams within Dreams

The Inception film is a an excellent concept, but it is not revolutionary or new. The dream realities in Inception provide for many interesting effects and fights sequences (both with weapons and hand to hand). There is a lot more action than I thought there would be in the film, evening feeling Matrix-like at times. There are a lot less of the reality-bending scenes depicted in much of the films marketing campaign. If you are expecting the bending, twisting and angular distortion of buildings and such ala Dark City, you will get some, but only a small amount. Certainly, not enough to pin a marketing campaign on, but that is the beauty of marketing, no?

The core of the Inception film are dreams. Dreams in the film are more like alternate realities which influence the true reality or waking state of the one dreaming. The basis of Inception is the implanting of a thought into someones head that must be so subtle that they come to the thought naturally thus making it their own. As the films states if a concept is suggested to a person consciously that can never be "their" thought, because they are conscious of where the thought originated.

The Director & The Actor

Inception was created by excellent film-maker and features a good performance by a decent actor, and some really good performances by the supporting cast. I am a Christopher Nolan fan. Memento was excellent.. His remake of Insomnia was very well done though I prefer the original. Batman Begins and the Dark Knight are two of the greatest comic book films ever, and the Dark Knight as a character study is a great film period. I also really enjoyed The Prestige. I think those are all better films than Inception. DiCaprio is solid in Inception, which isn't easy for me to say because I am of the secret-society which believes that DiCaprio is severely over-rated as a performer.

The film has also has a wonderful musical score that thankfully deviates from the usual Hans Zimmer "Zimmerfied" actions scores and the sound design is as subtle and nuanced as any I have heard in some time. All of that is not enough for me to say that this is a great movie. Inception was a decent film, with some amazing performances, visuals, sound and music felt like it was missing something.

Inception seems to be trying to do too much; to be too layered. I understood what was happening, but feel that the complex nature of the story, particularly towards the end, may loose some of the audience. There is a certain intellectual provocation going on here, which is excellent for the film. I find myself discussing it with friends days afterward and believing that a second viewing of Inception would be a good thing. I think it will certainly due well at the box office based on that alone. I definitely think that people should see it, if for nothing more than to discuss dreams and reality. How much do we shape our dreams and memories after the fact, and how much do memories and dreams affect who we are or become? I believe Inception is posing that question along with the standard "how far will we go for our loved ones". Inception will provide you with some really quality visuals, acting and music, and an interesting story that could have been great but doesn't quite get there.