'Inception' Scores Big at Box Office, Leaves Viewers Wanting More

Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Christopher Nolan, lived up to the hype this weekend, taking the No. 1 place at the box office and grossing $60.4 Million in the opening weekend alone. This Action-Adventure/ Sci-Fi film explores the possibility of breaking into another person's dreams, and has received good ratings from critics and viewers alike. With Yahoo viewers scoring the movie an A and Yahoo Critics scoring it a B+, this is clearly the must-see movie of July 2010.

Based on all the hype surrounding Inception, the cool trailers, and my general love for everything Leonardo DiCaprio does, I was a little disappointed with Inception. I had hoped to see something truly different in a movie. In this case, "different" was the idea that dreams can now be invaded and be used against us. Previews had me expecting something like The Matrix, but what we got with Inception seemed more like The Matrix-meets-Ocean's Eleven.

The concept of breaking into someone else's dreams was a brilliant idea for a movie, and the visual effects were truly mind-blowing, with characters having the ability to create a world and see it materialize based on their imaginations or dreams. But, after seeing the trailers, I expected more scenes like this, and fewer of the usual chase scenes and explosions that fill the screen of every other Hollywood action film of the decade.

Inception is convoluted, and that doesn't have to be bad. In fact, I was expecting the twists and turns that were promised in the trailers. The dream concept and the technology that went with it was all the weird one movie really needed. They didn't need to throw in a plot twist about a mentally unstable dead wife, or sketchy details of a lost family life that is never developed enough to care about.

DiCaprio plays his role well, and, though this is an intense role, he may actually overdo it all little bit in this movie. He takes on a mysteriously disturbed role here, but I think maybe what he needed to do was to be either a little less crazy, or a whole lot worse to really portray a character we would come to care about. Ellen Page is likable in this movie although, in this role, she doesn't get to show us much of the quirky self we actually love about her.

The ending was great, but it definitely was subject to interpretation and, no matter how you see it, a sequel would work great with Inception. A sequel for this movie would probably be helpful for Inception, because it would hopefully answer some questions that left me wanting more. The story in Inception seemed to have a lot of holes and characters, as well as wild concepts that aren't fully developed, making it both hard-to-follow and leaving you asking questions.

Overall, the movie is thought-provoking and one I'll no doubt want to select to see again later on as a rental. The concept of a world where dreams may no longer be private is new and fresh, giving Inception enough of what was promised in the hype to leave audiences satisfied for now.

Sources:

Rueters, (July 19, 2010) 'Inception' is no. 1 at weekend box office with $60.4 million despite incomprehensible ending, NY Daily News.com, Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/07/18/2010-07-18_inception_is_no_1_at_weekend_box_office_with_604_million_despite_incomprehensibl.html

Inception, Yahoo Movie Reviews, (July 20, 2010) Retrieved from http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810099246/user