Inception (a movie review)

First of all, I saw this in the IMAX. Which was awesome. Five story screen that's seven stories wide? Hello.

There's a thing about novels where you're not supposed to ever, ever open with a dream sequence. But what if that's a major plot point...?

The visuals are amazing. Seriously. Go spend the money on the IMAX because computer technology will reward you with not just its sheer awesomeness but also some real artistic delights--there's some great conceptualization (Paris folding in half is, in fact, as awesome as it looked in the trailer). I don't think the fifty different on-location shoots were totally necessary--Warner Bros. should have worked a little harder to control the budget and keep stuff in America, especially considering the economy--but it is gorgeous.

Christopher Nolan still has an unfortunate fixation on overly long car chase scenes, but he did bring Michael Caine and the dude who played Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in 'Batman Begins' along, so I suppose it's forgivable. (Also: a few too many slow-motion shots of the same dude. Again, though, oh well. Look at the graphics. They are epic.)

The plot itself--well, there are a lot of layers to the way the story's told. If you're a wanker like the Chicago Tribune movie critic you'll have serious trouble figuring this movie out, but if you're not then the plot is actually remarkably simple. The richness of the atmosphere and the dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream to the power of infinity add to it, keep the story interesting and keep you guessing...but the plot itself is simple.

And the actors do a good job in their roles (Leonardo DiCaprio isn't playing an irritating douchebag, Ellen Page is being her usual mildly amused but also deeply involved role, if I knew everyone else's names I'd say something about them too...well, Ken Watanabe was easy to guess but he doesn't do a super-lot in it). There are a couple of points where I couldn't tell if the dialogue wasn't up to scratch or if that's the way the character was supposed to be--I suppose that's the actor pulling the slack where the script doesn't make it all the way.

Anyway, if you're not going to see this in the matinee price IMAX see it in the day. It's a visually challenging but mentally simple (at least until the very end...) piece.

Seriously, fight scene in 360 degrees! What more reasoning do you need.