Inception

And the top keeps spinning... Inception is like, erm, an apricot, perhaps. So many layers, sweet, so rich (in ideas, not in vitamins) and holds together beautifully. I should be economical with the word original, because the “only" unique thing is the combination of all ingredients into a whole that works like clockwork, surprises, innovates and, most importantly, is entertaining without losing any of its cleverness. But there’s no denying that we’ve already seen movies about dreams and really high quality ones. But in the places where The Matrix, for instance, lost its viewers in its complexity, Inception swims along smoothly, and avoids copying it at all. Nolan sticks firmly to the story within clear limits, doesn’t lose control over the world invented for the story and never breaks its rules. Everything works on a strictly logical level and the dreams are depicted accordingly. It doesn’t forget about physics, the manipulation of which creates scenes that you could never imagine in your wildest dreams. You see, dreams usually try to cling to reality and so most of the action reminds me more of Heat than Speed Racer, which suits me. Damn, I wanted to avoid comparison with other movies. Too bad. The main essence of the story, Cobb’s story where we gradually find out what happened (to him) in the past and why he is in the situation he is, is very original. I thought I knew the answer, but in the end it turned out to be slightly different (but I was close, seriously) and better in the overall context. In fact I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about that and about inception, about its potential and how Nolan handled it with such genius, but also so simply. You see, it wasn’t so much about dreams, but about memories, decisions and guilt. A simple story in a maze of dreamlike realities. The cast, headed by DiCaprio who simply must win an Oscar this year, fit their roles perfectly and everybody is given a chance literally to shine. The action scenes are a feast for the eyes, which makes me even more annoyed that the Czech distributors weren’t able to buy even one copy for the IMAX, because the fight in the lobby throws your guts about even in 2D. Quite possibly movie of the year. Cameron played the emotional card last year, this year Nolan gives us reason. I am impressed. (07/26/2010)

I'm honestly glad for that light doubter prickle I went to see the film with. The beginning is undoubtedly a great, complex and ambitious work, but from my point of view it did not overcome Nolan's two previous masterpieces. Unlike The Prestige, it is strictly linear and lacks the great narrative finesse that will make me feel good even after watching it many times, and unlike The Dark Knight, it lacks that monumental fatefulness. The idea is brilliant, but the script says everything important from the very beginning, explains too much, and surprises too little. Jonathan would definitely help. And the other thing - DiCaprio plays exactly the same character as in Scorsese's Shutter Island. In exactly the same way. Regardless, these two things pulled me out of the sweet dizziness that so many people had succumbed to. (07/23/2010)

Inception is an incredibly precise film with a cold and detached perfection that reminded me of the Kubrick’s best (more than the oft-mention The Matrix) – that’s how The Killing would look if it was blended with 2001: A Space Odyssey. The way the script works with so many dream levels would be lethal for about 99% of today’s directors and screenwriters, but Nolan no longer needs to prove anything to anyone. This is a class on its own. Thanks to his mastery, the complex plot is easy to understand, at least at the most basic level. After watching it, I couldn’t sleep trying to find inconsistencies. There are films that don’t have an interpretation and will never make sense, no matter how hard the viewer tries, but I think the opposite applies to Inception. There will be several interpretations and all of them could be correct, though I believe it’s pointless to theorise too much, the true interpretation will be the simplest one, and the details (will it fall or not, and why) will remain up to each viewer. Either way, I must watch it again. I can’t tell which place (in terms of quality) Inception takes in Nolan’s filmography, but I liked it a lot more than the over-hyped and straightforward (though also great) The Dark Night. PS: Does it make any sense to talk about how great the performances of the entire cast are? (my favourite were Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Cillian Murphy). Edit: So, for the second time, a truly wonderful experience. The film is full of emotions, but you don’t have a chance to get them the first time (because you don’t know the twist) – Nolan’s rule of repeated viewings still applies. (07/23/2010)

We wish to make our dreams come true. We can't really materialize them unless we use film technology to do so. Inception is a perfect example of when dreams become reality and we can escape from reality into a dream. Unfortunately, we perceive it as exactly the opposite of the characters in the film. Two and a half hours go by like only a few minutes. (07/25/2010)

Inception pretends to be super clever. Through astonishment over the hitherto unseen, it gives the audience a consumerist, comfortable feeling that everything in the movie makes perfect sense. If it had contained any real emotion and some sort of message, drawn its sense of fatefulness and urgency from the story instead of from Hans Zimmer’s awesome, robust music, and enabled me to connect with the characters instead of leaving me in awe of their magical dialogue, I might have succumbed to the tempting feeling of perfection and awe of an extraordinary filmmaking event. But there is no more of these key cinematic values in this film than there is life in the image of monotonous grey skyscrapers in the background of Cobb and Mal’s fifty-year-long dream. Inception thus remains “just” an incredibly spectacular Matrix-like pose. (07/22/2010)