BOTTOM
LINE:
Intellectually
and visually engaging, if not emotionally, “Inception”
is a fascinating film that demands your attention from the outset
with its multi-layered plot and frenetic action.
THE
GOOD: Director
Christopher Nolan has now cemented his reputation as a world-class
filmmaker. “Inception” is his pet project, and he delivers
a film that demands you take your brain in with you, but also manages
to satisfy those who need their action or sci-fi fix. Leonardo DiCaprio
plays Cobb, an Extractor who is highly skilled at entering people’s
dreams and stealing their secrets. He is offered an opportunity
to clear his name for a supposed crime he is accused of in America
by Saito (Ken Watanabe), who needs him to implant an idea in to
his rival Robert Fisher’s (Cillian Murphy) mind so that he
will dissolve his multi-national corporation and thus end their
competition. From there, the film turns in to a fascinating exploration
of dream versus reality as Cobb and his team carry out their mission.
Nolan deserves a huge amount of credit for constructing a film where
it is possible to follow exactly what is happening, especially since
this film goes to the level of dreams within dreams within dreams.
At each turn, you know exactly where you are, as long as you are
paying attention. The film has some great action sequences, which
are also attenuated by the fact that the dream world is not real
and is malleable, exemplified in the scene where we see a city fold
in on itself. Nolan was obviously inspired by James Bond, The Matrix
and other similar films, but he manages to make something entirely
unique here. The cast he has assembled is first rate. “Inception”
surely must prove to Hollywood that if they actually had the guts
to cut a real director loose on an original concept, then they,
and the audience they are serving, can actually come out winners.
