“Inception,” written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, requires that you pay attention. If you do, you’ll be rewarded with a journey to a visually sumptuous world filled with suspenseful action and layer upon layer of intriguing dream sequences. Despite blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, it’s hard for the attentive viewer to get lost in Nolan’s carefully crafted story, which sounds more complicated than it really is. Suffice it to say that a team of dream raiders for hire led by Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) attempts the risky proposition of planting an idea in the subconscious of a business-empire heir (Cillian Murphy). The team includes Dom, the ace at invading a target’s dreams and stealing his secrets; Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the project manager and point man; Ariadne (Ellen Page) the newly recruited architect, who builds the dream worlds; Eames (Tom Hardy) who can impersonate anyone in a dream; and Yusef (Dileep Rao), a chemist whose drugs can keep sleepers sedated or bring them back to wakefulness. Because businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) is bankrolling this project, he wants to be involved in the process.
The cast is perfect. Although I’m not a DiCaprio fan, he proves that he is capable of creating a conflicted character that is both believable and likable. We know early on that his character harbors secrets and his most deadly is his deceased wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), who haunts his subconscious. DiCaprio skillfully reveals Dom’s guilt and regret as the story progresses. And it’s refreshing to see Page in a role that doesn’t require juvenile sarcasm while Gordon-Levitt demonstrates what a versatile actor he is. The impressive special effects are an integral part of the story rather than the reason for making the movie. Like James Cameron, Nolan has created a fascinating other world with cities where streets defy gravity and massive cliffs that collapse into the sea. And Hans Zimmer's music, while heavy-handed at times, effectively enhances the suspenseful build-up of the climax. “Inception,” arguably the best film of the summer and perhaps all year, is as sophisticated and intelligent as it is exciting and breathtaking. 7/17/10
"Inception” is a very complicated film about dreams. This film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is directed by Christopher Nolan and is, at times, hard to follow. You sit there wondering if the scenes are in reat time or if they are dreaming. I had to see it twice and I'm still not sure what I saw. You may do better than I did watching this odd film so I recommend that you go see it, twice.
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