Inception

Ben’s Review of Inception

Chris Nolan has been on a major role since bursting onto the scene with 2001’swonderfully twisted story in reverse, Momento. Since Momento, Nolan has put together film noir blockbuster with Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and of course the second highest grossing movie of all time and major league Oscar snub The Dark Knight. All of these movies are well written, well acted, and well paced. Most important, all these movies adhere to my number one rule in fictional story telling, they take the unbelievable and make it believable. So, like any pessimistic person I have to wonder how long can Chris Nolan maintain this streak. Even Steven Spielberg has done movies like Hook and 1941.
Inception is Chris Nolan’s most ambitious endeavor to date. Leonardo Dicaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a person who has perfected the art of what is known as “Extraction”. This is the ability to share in another person’s dream and steal that person’s secrets. Cobb is joined by his team of fellow extractors who each play a role in helping steal the various secrets of each victim. Cobb mainly works in corporate espionage extracting secrets for various clients. Extractions are typically elaborately set traps in which one extractor, known as the “Architect” designs a maze to lure the victim in to revealing the secret. Additionally, there are dangers involved such as once a person’s subconscious realizes that they are sharing a dream it attempts to kill the extractor. Additionally, if a person is killed in a dream typically they wake up unless the sedative that extractor takes is too strong, in which case you lose your mind. Also, it is possible to extract from a dream within a dream.
Cobb has gained a reputation for being a very good extractor but he is carrying a lot person of baggage based on past events. One of these past events prevents Cobb from returning to the United States and seeing his children. Another is the death of his wife. Cobb is presented with an opportunity to do one last job with the payoff being his ability to return to the United States. However this job is different, instead of extracting an idea, Cobb is hired to plant or incept an idea into the head of a victim. Cobb’s team does not believe it can be done but they are willing to try. This type of task requires planting a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream. So, can this inception be done? Can a concept this complicated be made believable? Can anyone with an IQ under 340 follow this plot?
Inception takes a concept like a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream and makes it work. This crazy seemingly unbelievable concept of being able to share someone’s dream and deal with the various rules and boundaries is one hell of task. Inception makes this concept work and does it without bombarding the audience with CGI effects or overly dramatic acting and scenes of various characters staring in awe. This movie is not the Matrix or Avatar and what makes it absolutely great is that it does not try to be. Its concept is original and occurs organically thus making it fascinating to watch. Additionally, Chris Nolan’s refusal to cram in needless special effects and use live action sequences greatly adds to the believability of this movie. A case in point is the now famous Joseph Gordon Levitt’s zero gravity fight during a sequence where one dream is being affected by the physics of another. Also, I can honestly say that I think I understood most of this move as it occurred. There are solid and not overly done acting performance from the aforementioned Dicaprio and Levit, as well Ellen Page, Ken Wantabe, Michael Cane, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and a dark Marion Cotilard. This movie may be worth catching a second time just to see what is missed.
I give it 4.75 sedatives out of 5 and recommend that potential moviegoers not be intimidated and enjoy the ride.
Something extra: this movie contains two up and coming actors that are ready to get the due each deserves. The first is Tom Hardy. If you have not seen last year’s Bronson make time to so. It is an acting clinic and something that most actors simply are not capable of pulling off. The second is Joseph Gordon Levitt. Forget about 500 Days of Summer. 2007’s the Lookout is and outstanding crime caper and is anchored by Levitt’s lead performance. Also, if you are looking for great modern day noir, 2006’s The Brick is as twisty and turny as it gets. Both these actors have quite bright futures ahead of them.

Elisa's Review of Inception

I think it is pretty clear by now that I am not a huge science-fiction fan, my suspension of disbelief is fairly limited and special effects do not really turn me on. The green-screen phenomena seems like cheating. Considering this, I was not too excited about Ben’s obsession with seeing the heavy-with-effects Inception. However, after watching an HBO “Behind the Scenes” special showing the director’s use of real-life effects and lack of green-screen explaining the real-life processes involving to be create the effects sans green screen, I was game.
Leonard Dicaprio (known to me as the guy that replaced aging Kirk Cameron on Growing Pains) leads a gorgeous nearly all-male cast the includes Joseph Gordon Levitt, of Third Rock from the Sun fame, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Cane. Instead of the stereotypical tall blonde femme fatale, Ellen Page of Juno is cast as an intelligent and imaginative architect.
Working as an ensemble cast, the group employs themselves as real-life dreamweavers, aka Extractors. Typically hired by Fortune 500 executives to extract trade secrets and the like, from the subconscious of the mark as he or she sleeps—dreams.
Hiding out after a turn of bad luck with an Asian chemical company, Don Cobb played by Dicaprio is approached with a new and creative job. The client, the CEO of the aforementioned chemical company, wants an idea be planted—incepted into the subconscious on the heir to the CEO’s largest competitor. He wants the “heir to the throne” to inherit his father’s global assets, and then break apart the business for the CEO to purchase. Cobb balks at the idea, as inception is impossible, the CEO insists Cobb take the job, promising a big payday---financially and personally.
Willing to risk it all, Cobb reunites his Extractor Team and outlines a plan: A dream-within-a-dream, within-a-dream blue-print is planned and put into action.
Inception is a brilliant and original story. It is a movie that should be viewed on the big screen to get the full glory of the scenes. Be advised, this is a thinking movie—with a great cliffhanger. So, if you are confused by the game “Bingo,” need directions playing “Tic-Tac-Toe” or think the objective in “Hangman” is to draw a body, this is probably not going to be an enjoyable experience. Otherwise, it is a must-see and undoubtedly a future classic.