Inception

What a wonderful new creation from the great Christopher Nolan, the director who brought us such great fare as Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight.

With Inception Nolan once again creates a very good movie that showcases great performances paired with an original and witty screenplay.  The story deals with dreams and secrets and a band of very sophisticated thieves who use the former to steal the latter.  Naturally, complications are the norm in such a delicate environment as a dream, where one’s memories and emotions can alter the landscape suddenly and unexpectedly.

This is clearly a vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio but the rest of the cast shines as well.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, and Marion Cotillard all bring their A game.  Hardy especially is a revelation, and Michael Caine, in what’s virtually a cameo, is understated but great.

The score by Hans Zimmer is subtle but perfectly underscores the action, and there’s even a masterfully hidden queue inspired by the Edith Piaf song used by our group of robbers.

Finally, a note on the visual effects which are striking and seamlessly embedded in the beautiful tapestry created by Nolan.

Inception is a movie that dazzles you with great visual effects and action sequences while at the same time keeping your brain not only engaged, but on overdrive in order to keep up with what happens on the screen.  In fact, Inception is the typical movie that not only benefits but practically requires multiple viewings.

A must see.

Grade: 9