Nick: My expectations for this movie were pretty high. Not only because Christopher Nolan was involved, but also because his latest effort is ranked #3 on Imbd’s top 250. Especially during the summer when hardly any good movies come out, a Christopher Nolan movie should be a breath of fresh air. In Inception, Leonardo di […]
Nick: My expectations for this movie were pretty high. Not only because Christopher Nolan was involved, but also because his latest effort is ranked #3 on Imbd’s top 250. Especially during the summer when hardly any good movies come out, a Christopher Nolan movie should be a breath of fresh air.
In Inception, Leonardo di Caprio’s character is hired to invade the human mind of Robert Fischer’s character. The objective is to convince Fischer to break up his father’s empire, preventing it from threatening Saito’s. If he succeeds, he will be given a chance to reunite with his family and return home.
Inception is a movie that makes sense after you’ve seen it all the way through. At first it reminded me of The Matrix, which is more straight forward. Inception however revolves as movie goes on.
The main plot line is not really original or compelling. It’s basically a heist movie. The thing that makes it more interesting is the interweaving sequences between the dream world and the real world. We also get scenes which take place in dreams which occur in dreams as well. The movie introduced a few elements which weren’t really explained well, like for instance the spinning totem. If it stops spinning, why does that mean that you’re not in the dream world? I didn’t make much sense when I was watching it, though I did get it after thinking it through. I felt confused a few times. This movie definately requires a second viewing.
The movie is visually stunning which is no surprise coming from the man behind The Dark Knight. Some CGI looked kind of fake, but most of it looked pretty authentic. The folded up Parasian streets looked really spectacular.
Kilian: The first time I saw a trailer for inception, I didn’t think it was any good. It was a lot of noise and I really couldn’t make up anything about the movie from the trailers. So I was very surprised that the director of Memento (thats what Nolan is for me, though the Dark Knight was cool too) was behind this. After reading the first reviews of this movie, I became really enthousiastic. They were all really good, and the idea of people stealing thoughts from dreams seemed nice.
Now I can say, that I really enjoyed the movie. Finally theres a movie again that forces you to think during the movie, a movie that challenges you. Throughout the whole movie, there was no moment I didn’t sit on the edge of my seat. It was awesome. Also the movie had a great pace, no scene was a scene too much, the explanations of the concept of the dreaming and inception were good and it was very well shot. The cgi moments really looked good in my opinion and it never ruined the feeling of the movie. Because that is another reason why it is good; the style of the characters and the atmosphere in the movie is great.
After seeing the movie, there were a few plotholes in the movie (or so I think). I need to see the movie another time to figure out how the kicks really work, and indeed the totems. At first I really thought yeah it’s a great idea, only you yourselve knows how your totem works. But after Arthur and Eames "dreamt" their own guns, why don’t they dream their totems as well then? You could think these points should ruin a movie, but only after seeing the movie you think of those things and they really don’t bother the experience.
It’s great to have seen a movie that really gets you thinking again… and it’s a blockbuster as well.
Nick: The only thing I didn’t really like about this movie, is that we have to assume a lot of things, without actually being sure if they make sense. The issue about the totems is one of them. Also, I’ve heard from some reviewers that this movie overexplains more than it should. What do you think of that? I thought it didn’t explain all that much. We are pretty much thrown into the action. A movie like The Matrix explains step by step what’s going on. Though I like Inception’s aproach equally, because there’s more room for surprise.
What I like most is how Nolan combines a convention heist plot with an innovative setting. We get a quite standard action plot which revolves in dreams, which take place in dreams as well. He’s not doing anything new per se, the format though is quite new and interesting. I appreciate when filmmakers try to bring something new to the table without it being a gimmick. I don’t think this movie is really innovating as a whole, it combines many different elements in nice way. This movie grew on me more as time passed.
In a time when so many movies get remade, this movie is a breath of fresh air. I give it a 8/10.
Kilian: Well, the assuming of things is true, but it doesn’t matter per se, because it didn’t bother me while watching the movie. After the movie though, you begin to doubt. But for a movie that really made you think and didn’t try to make easy money, a few flaws aren’t enough to break the movie. And maybe a second viewing isn’t even that bad an idea.
I don’t think the explains more than it should. Nolan only explains the more basic things about the dream worlds. After the movie I had (and still have) a lot of questions and that may be good in a couple of ways. First, it leaves room for surprise as you say. Secondly, it leaves room for interpretation and debate after the movie. Thirdly, it gives you a reason to watch the movie a second time. And fourth, and maybe most importantly, it gives the director room to do things. If you explain everything in a movie, you also restrict yourself while making the movie. So by not explaining everything Nolan evades the restrictions. I actually can’t wait for the Blu-ray release, with hopefully a great commentary track from the director.
But the best thing still about the movie is the fact that it in fact is the full movie experience: it is challenging, it has suspense, it is beautifully shot. This is cinema. Sure, it isn’t perfect, but as Nick said, in comparison to the other blockbusters, this is the real deal. 9/10