It’s not often that you run across a movie surrounded by a lot of positive buzz and find it as good, or even
better, than the buzz itself. Inception may be one of the only cases in the past few years where that is
actually true. Avatar, although it is an excellent movie, failed to surpass every positive word that
was spoken about it - The Expendables was another great movie where the buzz was mightier than the actual outcome, but Inception
is a film that I’ve been following for quite some time now, and not one moment during the film did I feel let down
or cheated from the experience I was hoping to achieve prior to its release.
Christopher
Nolan ensembles the perfect cast for this Oscar worthy film – which includes one of the finest actors that our generation
has seen, Leonardo DiCaprio. And although Leonardo gives a nearly perfect performance, I actually feel
his acting presence was more present and noticeable in a movie released earlier this year, Shutter Island. Also
rounding up the cast is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy and (Nolan’s go to guy) Michael Caine. Each actor and character had an important
part in the movie, and they all lived up to that part.
Inception is
a very smart and sophisticated movie that is relatively easy to follow as long as you are paying attention and are open to
what Nolan is presenting to you on the screen. But even after my third viewing – I still have questions.
Part of the enjoyment I get from each additional viewing is the fact that I don’t know everything about this
movie – if everything was mapped out for you the first, or even second, time you watch it – would you really
want to go back for more? It’s similar to eating a second serving of turkey at Thanksgiving, most
of us go back because we’re hungry – I am still hungry for more even after a third viewing of Inception.
This film seemed like the perfect blend of The Matrix and Mission Impossible, and I may get ostracized for this,
but the fight scene that included actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a zero gravity environment is possibly as good or slightly
better than anything I have seen in a Matrix movie. No, it may not be as action packed or choreographed
to perfection with computer graphics as The Matrix, but it was more fluent. In fact, there were times that
I even questioned the usage of wires, the whole scene seemed too fluent and perfect to be wires.
The musical score is something that you cannot deny when viewing this movie. Hans Zimmer introduces
us to another pitch perfect score that is mind-bending in itself. The music is just as important as the
script in this movie, it presents itself at just the right moments with just the right sounds that are necessary to put
you in the exact mood the filmmakers wanted you to be in.
Inception may be epic, but
unfortunately the specials features are not. It may not be as bare-boned as the Avatar Blu-ray release
from earlier this year, but it might as well be. Included with this version of the film is: Extraction
Mode – Learn how Christopher Nolan and the crew designed signature moments, Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious –
an interesting documentary on the process of dreaming, Inception: The Cobol Job – A comic prologue in full animation
and motion that shows the events leading up to the beginning of the movie, Art and sounds from the film, and Trailers.
Enough to keep you buys for a while, but still not as much as I was hoping for.
A lot of this movie is open for interpretation – there are even viable arguments on both sides, but I think
most of us can agree upon whether or not this is a good movie – so do yourself a favor and buy one of the greatest
achievements in film that we’ve seen in years. I’ve already indulged myself three times, and
I’m still hungry for more.
