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MY RATING: 9.7

Inception (2010)

DIRECTED BY: Christopher Nolan

STARRING: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A group of dream extractors are hired to do something impossible, inception.

PROS: Extremely complex and well thought out concept; Believable; Good Music; Brilliant editing; Fun designs and choreography.

CONS: A few inconsistencies; Can be a bit confusing the first time through.

BOTTOM LINE: Inception is perhaps one of the most original films to be released in many years.

When I walked out of the theater after seeing Inception for the first time, I could not suppress my excitement. The film is one of the most brilliantly woven stories I have ever seen. And I'm only talking about the story concept. That's not to mention the editing, music, acting, design, and action sequences. It all fit so perfectly making it one of the best films of the year.

Dominick Cobb is a dream extractor. He and his team enter the dreams of others to extract information. However, he lives away from the United States because he has been accused of killing his wife Mal. All he really wants is to return home to see his children. So when he is offered a seemingly impossible job in return for the clearing of his name, he cannot refuse.

The job is Inception, the planting of an idea inside the dreams of someone else. He and his newly selected crew must convince the heir to a major corporation to dissolve his father's empire. To do so, they must enter deeper into the dream world than ever before. The situation is made even more complicated by the fact that Cobb's dead wife, Mal, is breaking into the dreams through his subconscious.

What can be said about Inception? The idea is incredibly complex. It would be easy to get lost in the intricacies of the concept. Christopher Nolan, however, is able to successfully pull it off with very little inconsistencies (we'll talk about those in a minute). Apart from the complexities of the story, the filmmaking techniques are entertaining and stimulating. The music is exciting and one of Hans Zimmer's best scores yet. It is primarily responsible for keeping the action going during the tricky editing moments of the film. The editing, as I said, is tricky (I mean, how can you successfully show a van falling off a bridge for half the movie), but it couldn't have been done better.

There are a few inconsistencies that, whether there is an explanation or not, is not clear. For example, why is limbo so dangerous if all you have to do to leave, is kill yourself. Also, while the film is brilliant, it can be a little difficult to follow, especially on the first viewing. The ending is not entirely unexpected, but extremely aggravating nonetheless. However, in my opinion, there are enough clues to give away the answer to that final question, so keep a lookout for those.

Overall, I cannot praise Inception enough. It is rare to find a film that makes you think as much as this one and yet remain entertaining. Christopher Nolan, I take my hat off to you.