 Inception - Movie Review
Inception - Christopher Nolan
Inception is more than just an action packed thriller; it is a cinematic excellence worth every penny spent. Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated flick not only matches the viewer’s expectation but also surpasses it. Films on issues like dream or sub conscious mostly tend to be vague and complicated. After the Matrix (1999), The Cell (2000), and Vanilla sky (2001), the film ‘Inception’ has been proved to be their true legacy and treated the theme of illusion and reality in an intriguing way which has catered to both the critics as well as the common mass.
Dom Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) is a highly skilled burglar who intrude sleeping people’s vulnerable subconscious mind and extract valuable secrets from them. His designation as a corporate spy costs him the most when he loses his family and ends up being an international fugitive. He finally gets a new project to work on, this time accomplish the impossible by not digging out but planting one idea inside a person’s mind. And the person happens to be the only heir to a huge business empire, a multi-millionaire’s only son.‘Inception’ begins.
All the action scenes especially when Arthur (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) and Cobb (DiCaprio) fighting in the hallway of a luxury hotel bring a revolutionary change in the typical Hollywood special effects which, in a way, dulled the audience. The awe and wonder which is hardly evoked in recent Hollywood action thrillers, multiply further in the audience’s mind when Nolan turns to the old fashioned techniques of rotating cameras instead of using of CGI. The action sequences are definitely more appealing and blend reality and mystic together in the worldwide blockbuster Inception. Though they appear to be quite simple in comparison to the Matrix Trilogy or Kung Fu action films of Chinese and Japanese origin, the scenes of Inception are nothing but visual treats.
Inception has minor weaknesses as well. Once you get into the basic characters and the story around, you can figure out the end very easily and the obvious climax won’t contradict in any way. The success of Inception is accused by some critics that dialogues appear pretty repetitive and the story is simplified a little more than necessary for general mass appeal, some even points out the cause Cobb is fighting for, is pretty subjective and therefore lacks universal compassionate appeal. If you brush aside these trivial issues it is no doubt a movie worth watching…many times.
DiCaprio as Cobb is simply marvelous. He yet again impresses the audience intensely by portraying a character that suffers from unendurable guilt throughout the movie. Cobb, separated from his family, longs to meet his children and cannot help but go back to the thoughts where his wife (Mal) makes an entry into the dream. There, in his intricate dreams, she arrives suddenly and ruins his missions and he fails to stop her everytime; helpless with love and guilt.
Even though Dicaprio is amazing, he is not the only one who shoulders the film. Actually, no one shoulders the film. They don’t have to because 1) All the main actors are just good, brilliant, talented, artists who deliver phenomenal performances no matter how small or big the role is. 2.) The subject of the film is so fascinating that it doesn’t need acting geniuses, the actors just add to the absorbing theme of the film. And 3.) The actors have been chosen carefully by an unquestionably talented director, who gave us movies like Memento, Insomnia and The Dark Knight.
The cast:
Leonardo Dicaprio – Dom Cobb
Joseph-Gordon Levitt – Arthur
Ellen Page – Ariadne
Tom Hardy – Eames
Ken Watanabe – Saito
Dileep RaO – Yusuf
Cillian Murphy - Robert Fischer
Tom Berenger - Peter Browning
Marion Cotillard - Mal
Pete Postlethwaite - Maurice Fischer
Michael Caine - Miles
Lukas Haas – Nash
Tai-Li Lee – Tadashi
Claire Geare - Phillipa (3 years)
Magnus Nolan - James (20 months)
To capture and showcase it all, Cinematographer Wally Pfister and Editor Lee Smith leave no stone unturned and convert Nolan’s 10 year-long idea into a cinematic excellence.
Kudos to Nolan for the unconventional, refreshing, and captivating Inception. Together the great storyteller Nolan and his outstandingly executed dream project ‘Inception’ will definitely be the topics we should look forward to in the Oscars next year.
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