I can't stop thinking about how great it was, I can't stop thinking about how much was wrong with it, and I can't stop thinking about how much I need to see it again. I wasn't kidding when I walked out of the theater and told my compatriots that I would turn around and buy a ticket for the next showing, had there been one.
So let's get the basics out of the way:
1. The scope of the film is absolutely incredible. Such a wholly original idea so executed flawlessly is an unbelievable achievement.
2. That executed flawlessly bit? Not hyperbole. PERFECTLY shot, edited and, despite what anyone may say to the contrary, written. Bouncing through four dimensions of reality while maintaining a judo grip on my stomach is not an easy task. The way the film recreates the jumpy, illogical nature of dreams through mid-conversation cuts to completely different locations is pretty cool. It is true that there is A LOT of exposition. But it is all quite necessary, as creating an entire universe without explaining it to the audience would probably not go over too well.
3. Zero Gravity fight scenes - fuck yes.
4. It has been a long time since a film has so thoroughly consumed an audience. Not a single person in the theater I was in could take there eyes from the screen. The film simply engulfs you, makes you a part of its world, and doesn't let you out, even when it is over.
5. James Cameron should get pretty familiar with that 2nd place spot on the podium. Christopher Nolan has staked his claim as the king of Hollywood. (And he's actually a talented writer! Who would have guessed?)
But, as I somewhat ominously mentioned in my opening sentiments, there is a lot wrong with the film. At the risk of overusing an all-caps A LOT twice in one post, I feel it is necessary. Because there really are A LOT of problems.
That isn't entirely true, it's just that the problems are very basic plot holes and contradictions. The one that keeps gnawing at me is so simple that I am borderline frustrated that it is not addressed.
Mild spoilers follow.
As you may or may not know, the film concerns a team of crack dream-invaders who specialize in stealing ideas from people through said people's dreams, a process known as extraction. The kicker of the film, however, is that they've have been tasked with planting an idea in someone through a dream, known as inception.
Now, inception is supposed to be incredibly difficult, if not impossible to perform, yet I couldn't help but find myself thinking how often I have crazy ideas from even crazier dreams. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to fabricate an idea in dreamland. But this issue is handled quite well, and is not my qualm.
My problem is that this premise leads to the vast majority of the cast being asleep for a vast majority of the film. Everyone is technically "asleep" for the its entire second half. In order to commit inception, the team, along with their mark, are all heavily sedated with a special sedative designed to preserve their inner ear functionality, meaning they are still susceptible to waking up from the sensations of falling or imbalance.
This is key to their plan, as they will need to trigger a "kick" (somehow making their sleeping selves fall or get splashed with water or something) in order to wake from their shared dream. They arrange to do this by having the van they are all sleeping in (within the dream - because you know they pull some dream within a dream business) be driven off a bridge into a river.
Now this is supposed to be what wakes them up, and it does so quite effectively, yet the fact that on the way to the bridge, the van flies off a freeway, rolls over about four times and crashes, all without stirring its occupants arises that nasty little skeptical bastard that lives in my brain. Again, this is a very basic plot hole, and it is rather frustratingly brushed aside.
Perhaps more pertinently, the actual device that allows people to share dreams is not even remotely explained. I don't think anyone even mentions it. It's just kind of there, absolutely integral to the plot, yet utterly mysterious.
Sidenote: I don't know how many neural synapses are in your wrist, but that does not seem like it would be the most likely port for plugging yourself into a mind-melding device.
And lastly, I just wanted more. I wanted to know more about Nolan's world, more about the business of dream-sharing. I want to see what happens when someone has an off-the-wall, coocoo bananas, flying-motorcycle dream. All of the dreams in the film are loosely based in reality. I want to see a surreal dreamscape that I've seen so many times at night, but can never remember when I wake up. I want to see what happens when someone has a nightmare. I want to know more!
This sounds like ample opportunity for some fan-fiction.
See this movie. There won't be a better one for years.
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