Review: Inception

While watching Inception I realised I haven't been genuinely wowed by a film in years.

In fact, I can't think of the last time I watched something and felt like I was seeing something I really hadn't seen before. Last year's big hitter Avatar certainly promised to be that film. It wasn't. Sure, it provided some admittedly dazzling spectacle, but in terms of story, in terms of ideas, it was disappointingly familiar.

Enter Chris Nolan who, with Inception, is playing in a world all of his own. The imagination and creativity on display here is nothing short of astounding and it is the work of an auteur at the absolute top of his game. Films as rich and huge as this just don't get made anymore and they're rarely, if ever, tackled this well.

In terms of plot I'm reluctant to go into detail. Leonardo Di Caprio plays Dominic Cobb, the world's best "extractor". His, highly illegal, talent involves him and his team entering a target's mind and stealing their ideas while they sleep. A very lucrative offer comes along to attempt the impossible; Inception. Planting an idea inside someone's mind as they dream. If Cobb can pull this off the past that is haunting him may just go away.

Moreso than any film in recent memory the less you know about this film the better, not because of any potential twists, but simply because me outlining the plot would rob you of the way Nolan presents it. It's an amazing feat of story telling. Inception could have been a expositional nightmare but Nolan presents the concept and explains the rules quickly and clearly. To be fair he cheats a little, (new recruit Ariadne played by Ellen Page is the stand in for the audience asking questions she should probably already know) but Nolan is confident enough not hold your hand through the film. To watch a mainstream summer blockbuster this big that allows and trusts you to think for yourself is such a refreshing experience and doesn't happen nearly enough.

The Internet became a flurry of excitement when Di Caprio said he based Cobb on Nolan himself and that adds an incredible new layer to the film. People talk about films being personal, here Nolan is showing us how he dreams or at least an approximation of it. Perhaps disappointingly there is restraint shown within the dream world presented. It's far more logical than any I've ever had and you have to wonder whether Nolan tried to push the surreal but was reigned in by Warner Brothers. Whatever the case he manages to craft some incredible imagery, the city folding itself in half, a freight train appearing in a busy street and even MC Esher's Infinite Staircase brought to life by some crafty special effects.

Mr Nolan would also like to announce that he can shoot action. One of the main criticisms of his two Batman films was the rather pedestrian action sequences. Not here. Inception is bursting at the seams with some incredibly realised set pieces, the stand out being a zero gravity fist fight in a spinning hotel room. Tense, exciting, inventive and beautifully choreographed the entire scene is utterly mesmerising and is instantly one of the most stunningly realised action scenes since Neo ordered all those guns.

But as with all of Nolan's films the concept revolves around the human. DiCaprio is the heart and soul of Inception and it's difficult to go into how well he portrays his character without revealing some of the film's mystery. Cobb has a secret, one that could jeopardise everything for the team he has assembled. In fact, this new job offer could be the answer he is looking for. Many have compared Cobb to Teddy Daniels, DiCaprio's US Marshal in Shutter Island. The comparison is apt, both men have a darkness eating them alive as they try desperately to unravel something. DiCaprio has always played desperate well, he can build that anger and despair in such a subtle way that when he does inevitably snap he is electric.

If there is one criticism of Inception it's that it's overlong. There is enough content here for a trilogy of films. The film is crammed full of ideas and concepts that can barely be contained in the almost two and a half hour runtime. What's worse is that the third act contains an extended action sequence that just isn't necessary, in fact it distracts from what's actually happening. The Dark Knight suffered from some excess bloat and unfortunately the same applies here keeping the film shy of perfect. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.

But this is a minor criticism of an incredible film. After Inception I have no reservations calling Nolan one of the most important Directors working today. Not only has he made a cerebral brain bender but he manged to smuggle it into a mainstream blockbuster. If he had only done that I would be impressed, the fact that it's this is good is staggering.

Nolan has said he wanted to make a Bond film. You hear that MGM? Give him the next film, give him the whole franchise.