Review - Inception (2010)

          Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's been a bit since Marvel May wrapped up. And today, with about a month and a half until the release of Christopher Nolan's new film Oppenheimer, I'd like to take a look at my favorite Christopher Nolan film outside of the Dark Knight trilogy. And that is the 2010 film Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Elliott Page (credited as Ellen Page), Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, Cillian Murphy, Lukas Haas, Pete Postlethwaite, and Michael Caine. 

        So, this movie establishes the concept of shared dreaming, where a dream world is crafted, and a subject is brought into that dream world and fills it with their subconscious. Any sensitive information the subconscious is trying to protect is often targeted by individuals who hire thieves called extractors to get the information through the process of extraction. And dreams within dreams are also a thing, and are a key element in extraction. 

        Dominic Cobb is one of the top extractors in the world, and we meet him attempting an extraction from a business magnate named Saito. Cobb, along with his partners Arthur and Nash, the latter of whom is an architect (who designs the dream world), nearly succeed in extracting the information they've been hired to get, but a projection of Mal, Cobb's deceased wife, arrives and nearly ruins everything. Saito, however, is impressed by the "dream within a dream" that Cobb and his crew are able to pull off. Unfortunately, Nash screwed up one detail, and once awake in the real world, the three split up before Saito reawakens. 

        Some time after speaking with his children, Cobb meets up with Arthur and the two discuss plans. Saito meets them, revealing how Nash sold them both out, and Saito reveals what he needs Cobb's services for: inception. So, inception is the opposite of extraction. Instead of stealing from the mind, inception is the process of planting an idea into some else's mind. While Arthur tries to explain how inception is impossible, Cobb agrees to it on the promise that Saito clears Cobb's criminal record, allowing him to return home to his children in the US. And what's the idea that needs to be planted? Well, Saito needs Robert Fischer, the heir of a multi billion dollar energy corporation, to break apart his father's corporate empire. 

       Cobb goes to meet his mentor and father-in-law, Professor Stephen Miles, who introduces him to a student named Ariadne, who showcases her skills at creating a complex maze. Cobb and Arthur then introduce her to the concept of shared dreaming and about the many ways to wake up from a dream, including getting killed in the dream. Arthur also teaches Ariadne about totems, which are unique to every individual. Cobb, meanwhile, goes to recruit a forger named Eames. Eames can alter his appearance within the dream, which is useful. Eames reveals that he was part of a crew that attempted inception once, but the idea didn't take. Eames also points Cobb into the direction of a chemist called Yusuf, who showcases a form of the sedation compound that will allow a three-level dream to be stable. 

        Robert Fischer, whose father Maurice is on his death bed, has had a very complicated relationship with his father, but is very close to his godfather, Peter Browning. So, Eames looks to copy Browning within the top level of the dream, the idea being that Fischer will create a projection of Browning in the lower levels of the dream, this creating the illusion that Fischer gives himself the idea. And the plan is to pull of the feat on a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. 

         Unfortunately, it turns out that Fischer had prior training against extractors, thus he has trained projections that Cobb and co. weren't prepared for, and Saito end up shot. Unfortunately, due to the high levels of sedation, simply dying won't wake them up, and will instead send them all the way down to a deeper dream state called Limbo. Cobb decides that the only way out is to keep to the plan. So, Cobb and Arthur ask Fischer for a numeric combination, which Fischer claims to not know, and Eames, as Browning, is brought in to gain Fischer's trust. 

        Moving onto the next level down, whilst Yusuf drives them in a van to keep away from the projections, Cobb takes on the moniker of Mr. Charles, while Eames acts as a distraction in the form of a gorgeous blonde woman. Cobb works with Fischer, while Arthur and Ariadne get rooms 528 and 491 ready for the next phase. Fischer's projection of Browning appears, as was expected, and shows a darker side to Browning's character. Cobb convinces Fischer to go into Browning's mind, which is actually just deeper into Fischer's own mind. Arthur puts everyone to sleep and down to the next level: a mountainside hospital, where unfortunately Mal arrives and kills Fischer. Cobb and Ariadne go after him all the way in Limbo, while Eames sets up explosive charges for the kick. Back in the second level, as Yusuf is on the first level driving off the bridge for the kick, Arthur puts everyone into the elevator and sets charges to launch the elevator for the kick. 

         In Limbo, Cobb shows Ariadne around in the world he built with Mal, and the two reach Mal and Fischer. Mal only agrees to release Fischer if Cobb stays behind, which he agrees to do. However, his true motivation for staying is revealed when he mentions that, up above, Saito is dead by this point, meaning he's somewhere in Limbo waiting to be found and brought back. Cobb also comes to terms that the projection of Mal that keeps haunting him is his own guilt, as while they were in Limbo, she wanted to stay, and he had to convince her that the world wasn't real, and death was the only way out, meaning he planted the idea in her mind that led to her jumping to her death. In other words, Cobb successfully performed inception on his own wife. 

         Fischer, upon returning to the hospital, sees the projection of his father, as well as a will suggestion Fischer split up his father's empire. The kicks take off, and Eames, Ariadne, Fischer, and Arthur all return to the top level, and Fischer confirms his plan to break apart his father's company and build something for himself,. meaning that inception was successful. Meanwhile, Cobb cradles the dying Mal in his arms in Limbo, and after she dies, he goessl after Saito, who has aged greatly in this world. Saito, who had become an old man filled with regret, agrees to return with Cobb, where they can both be young men. Upon reawakening in the real world, Saito keeps to his end of the arrangement and makes the call. Upon arriving at the Los Angeles airport, Cobb has no problem getting through security, and Stephen picks him up and takes him home, where he holds his children for the first time in years. 

       Okay, so there's really a lot going on with the movie Inception, but it is probably among the Christopher Nolan films that's somewhat easy to follow. I mean, the concept is complex, but they explain it in detail throughout the movie, and thus it starts to make sense while watching it. Christopher Nolan is one of those directors who sets up a world that is very detailed oriented, which was a major hallmark of the Dark Knight trilogy, and he uses that sense for detail to great effect here in Inception.

         The cast is also incredible, with Leonardo DiCaprio possibly giving his best performance in this movie as Dominic Cobb. This is an actor who has been consistently excellent throughout his career, but rarely got recognized for it until his long overdue Oscar win for The Revenant. And I would argue that his performance in Inception was far better than his performance in The Revenant. 

          Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, and Dileep Rao were all three fantastic as Arthur, Eames, and Yusuf, with each of them bringing something different and fun to their roles. My personal favorite of the three is Tom Hardy as Eames, who has the humorous quips and hysterical insights. And, I liked how he takes on different guises in the dream world, my favorite being that of Talulah Riley as a gorgeous blonde woman. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also shows his skills as an action star, especially in his hallway fight scenes against the projections created by Fischer. And Dileep Rao as Yusuf really comes off as knowledgeable in the field of the compounds used in dream sharing, and this came just half a year after his role in James Cameron's Avatar. 

           Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe were both excellent as business rivals Robert Fischer and Mr. Saito. Now, both men frequently have worked with Christopher Nolan, and both excel in their roles here as well, with Ken Watanabe's Saito being a favorite of mine personally. Another Nolan regular, Michael Caine, also does a fantastic job in this movie as Cobb's father-in-law Stephen. Marion Cotillard definitely fills the role of the femme fatale as Mal, and she is definitely a major antagonist in this movie. 

       But easily the character that is most unique and fascinating is Ariadne, who serves as the audience surrogate. Elliott Page (credited as Ellen Page at the time) definitely portrayed her with that kind of wide eyed intrigue of someone learning everything about dream sharing and building dream worlds for the first time, and it ranks up there as one of my favorite roles from the actor alongside Kitty Pryde from the X-Men franchise. 

         However, what sets Inception apart is the visual storytelling. Christopher Nolan took many cues from the works of MC Escher and other surrealist artists to craft dream worlds that can easily have their own physics to them. I especially liked the use of the Penrose Steps in a couple of scenes in this movie, as a means of showing how one can cheat architecture within the dream world, which is far more fascinating than anything seen in the world of The Matrix, at least in my opinion. 

         Overall, the work that Christopher Nolan did with Inception is absolutely fantastic. I absolutely loved this movie when I first watched it after getting is on DVD for Christmas in 2010, and I still love watching it to this day. So, I'm giving Inception a rating of 5/5. 

        Alrighty guys, this is Chuck signing off. Look out for my Oppenheimer review next month, as well as my review for the new movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts coming before the week is over.