Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

Where do I start with Inception? To delve into the plot would actually take away the film’s effectiveness but say too little and it begs the purpose of this review at all. So, on that note, there will be certain, but non-major, plot points spoken about. Some very minor spoilers (again, not plot ruining) but if you wish to go in knowing as little as possible (which is the best way, trust me), then it might be worth skipping the review.

DiCaprio is a gent called Dom Cobb, the best extractor in the business of subconscious espionage. Extraction is easy, however when Dom is asked to attempt Inception, the tricky practice of planting an idea into their target’s mind (it is explained why it’s more difficult but I can’t explain it here), the stakes are raised much higher: there’s the promise of finally getting home to his family, of whom he has been in hiding for an undisclosed but lengthy period of time.

One thing to say about Inception, apart from how truly, utterly brilliant it is, is that it is probably the most original film since The Matrix back in 1999. I think one of the key components that will either invigorate audiences or turn them off is the fact that it’s not based on an already established name, be it an adaptation or a sequel. That in itself is refreshing enough but the genius conceit of Inception is that it believes so much in the world it’s created that it leaves very little catching up time for the audience. The rules for Extraction and Inception are laid down thick and fast and woe betide the fellow that insists on a pee break. Miss even two minutes of this film and you’re lost.

But in laying down the rules, the second half of the film (in which DiCaprio’s team implement the Inception heist) acts them out with aplomb. We have dreams within dreams within dreams and things that happen in one plain of reality directly effect that in the next, for example: whilst the team is unconscious in freefall in one, in the subsequent dream they’re all weightless, and whilst a van in which the team is asleep tumbles down a hill, the gravity in the next starts to shift (giving us that awesome corridor fight from the trailer).

Christopher Nolan really has taken everything he’s learned from making mature adult blockbusters and utilised it here with maximum effect. To say it’s thinking man’s blockbuster is understating things but, unlike the Michael Bay’s of this world, he does not feel the need to treat his audience like kids. Whilst Inception may hold a 12A certificate, that’s not to say it’s for children of that age, not because of any of its content I must add, just that the plot, which is perfectly written and executed, will just be too much for those that crave robots hitting each other.

But, that said, there is a lot here that will appeal to that demographic. The visuals, whether it is during much of the trippy dream imagery or the outstanding action sequences, are spectacular. Whilst grounding much of the dream world in reality, that’s not to stop Paris from folding in on itself or have gravity shifting from wall to wall.

But, as stated, what makes Inception work is it stubbornness to stick to it’s established rules. So ten hours in real time equates to a week in the dream world but a dream within that dream equates to six months and a dream within that dream equates to ten years and so on, so whilst moments that are instantaneous in one dream, the team knows that they’ll have around twenty minutes to get things done in the next, etc. Once you get your head around it, you have to marvel at how well the filmmakers have been able to juggle the different time frames within the dream world. It pays off in spade and once everything comes together in the end (of which it does in outstanding fashion) the satisfaction of staying with Nolan and his convoluted but never confusing mind is like nothing I’ve experienced in the cinema for years.

Inception is literally like nothing you’ve ever seen before. A heist movie with some serious balls, this is, hands down, Christopher Nolan’s finest accomplishment. There will be those that wont like it (it has already garnered some vehemently hostile criticism) and I can understand why but I was enthralled by not only the spectacle but also the sheer bravura at its ideas.

This is Nolan’s masterpiece.

6/5