As far as the quality of movies released during the summer go, most fall short of our high expectations, while, oddly, at the same time meeting their own. We read of producers, directors, and movie studios collectively throwing hundreds of millions of dollars into a movie ultimately doomed with the same summer-cursed fate: raking in ungodly sums of money while simultaneously making every person walking out of the theater, "Why the hell did I just pay twelve bucks to see that abomination?" But year after year, without avail, those same wonderful folks in Hollyweird churn out painful excuses for film.
This summer has been called the "summer of sequels", with studios riding the coattails of already mediocre films and debauching them into such mangled wrecks that they abandon ship and start over altogether (a la the Spider-Man trilogy). We had movies like Iron Man 2, Sex & the City 2, and Shrek 4 and quite frankly, it gets old.
I realize this seems incredibly off-topic and an unnecessary rant, but I want to bring focus to how substantial the movie event, Inception is. Amidst a summer riddled with sequels and 80s reboots, we have the brainchild of writer/director Christopher Nolan, the genius behind the likes of Memento, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight. After being given the green light 8 years ago, Nolan began to experiment with an entirely novel idea for a movie. He wanted to place the viewer in the dreams of another person, and see how vast the possibilities could be.
With that, we begin our journey into Inception. The movie beings with Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) face down on a beach, waves crashing upon him. He turns and sees two children playing in the sand but suddenly a gun is put to his head. Beaten, frazzled, and confused, Cobb is brought into a mansion and sat down across a long table from an old and wrinkled Saito (Ken Watanabe). A few lines are exchanged between the two men before the scene cuts to a younger Saito and Cobb now in tuxedos. Following an intricate, James Bond-esque gunfight, Arthur (Joseph-Gordon Levitt), who is Cobb's partner, is killed and wakes up in a house with his team, including Cobb, still asleep and hooked up to a machine. It becomes clear this was just a dream.
Inception has set a new bar for summer flicks, regardless of genre. It was a chair-gripping experience from beginning to end as well as managing to funnel the two very different types of moviegoers into a single creation that will be looked at as the blueprint for summer flicks here on out. There are the casual fans, just looking for an escape for a couple hours, and then the people who seek out quality films that are stimulating and well acted, and Inception effortlessly bridges that gap.
The quality of the acting from the ensemble is top-notch. Inception is supplied with numerous Academy Award winners as well as nominees. Ariadne (Ellen Paige) is an incredibly matured woman craving an outlet for her creative genius, as well a compassionate sidekick to Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio). Marion Cotillard, who plays "Mal", Cobb's wife, is in my opinion the stand-out acting job of the movie. She is able to evoke a mixture of pain, fright, and empathy from every viewer.
It's hard for me to review this film without revealing spoilers or other mysteries about the film. As much as I adore Inception, it is certainly not without its faults. For me, the sore thumb is the ending. I felt it was almost a cop out by Christopher Nolan. The movie raises enough questions as it is. My second problem was that as a mysterious, sci-fi, action-thriller that makes us question our very lives, Inception is immediately placed on the same level as The Matrix. I have read numerous articles on how people believe Inception to actually be better. In all fairness, The Matrix is the original scientific mind thriller. It not only questioned our lives, but it had incredible philosophical undertones, and that is where Inception lacks.
Quite frankly this movie is a mindf*ck, but don't dare let that stop you. Bottom line, if you want an incredibly action-packed journey then go see Inception. It is not one to be missed and will be remembered for years to come.
B+
