Review of 'Inception'

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a thief skilled at the art of “extraction” where secrets are extracted the subconscious while dreaming. Cobb is approached by a wealthy corporate giant to perform an “inception” - placing an idea into a dreamer's subconscious - on a bereaved son of the CEO of a large company with the payment being allowed to return to his native United States. He is sought by the police there due issues related to his wife's suicide and custody of his children. Intrigued by the challenge and keen to once again see his children, Cobb assembles a team to help him with the operation that includes delving into “a dream within a dream within a dream…” perhaps even further.

This was a big special effects blockbuster from 2010 and the effects are quite amazing in the dream state with the iconic image of the folding of a city back on itself. The plot is complex and requires more from the viewer than most such films. Emotionally, too, we deal here with the issues of loss from suicide, self-doubt and belief - All heady topics. Cobb's wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) is a particularly strong and enigmatic character here - Why did she die? Why is she trying to stop them?

The only thing I found tiresome was the ever-present guns and gun fights. Why are so many things in films solved by guns all the time? Here there appear to be gun-fights at every corner waiting for the heroes. Putting that aside, this is a well plotted and thrilling ride with a surprising amount of depth. Well worth a watch.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2014-08-30

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Studio: Warner Bros

Year: 2010

Length: 148 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/

• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Prestige (2006)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Interstellar (2014)
• Dunkrk (2017)
• Tenet (2020)
• Oppenheimer (2023)