Home News Inception Rev...

Inception Review

By
Jon Lyus
-
26

Inception has come to us under a cloak of secrecy. It is unusual for a major blockbuster to keep it’s cards so close to its chest but it allows the punch, or the film’s Prestige if you will, to deliver it’s punch all the more effectively.

Visually the film is inventive and rich in detail, it is a film of ideas rather than echoes and emblems of a property steeped in popular culture. Inception is not the second coming as some have predicted but it doesn’t need to be. It is a simple story transported to a world familiar to us all, but until now has rarely been so effectively rendered on screen.

You could accuse the marketing department, showing the images of Paris enfolding and streets exploding in the trailers, of ruining the spectacle. But these are mere hints of what is in store. In common with The Matrix, a film which is easily an influence, conscious or not, you cannot be told what Inception is, you do have to see it for yourself. Yes, it shares ideas (and some direct images) with this film and others like Satoshi Kon’s Paprika but it grounds itself in a reality far from the colourful dreamscapes of Kon’s film and with less cartoon like elasticity of the world of Neo.

There are breathtaking moments, shadows of Escher appear while we are lead through the malleable world of dreams and tight restrictions are introduced which conspire to deliver the tension which Nolan ramps up right to the very last twist of the knife.

The celebrated trailer shots of suspended bodies and zero gravity fights appear and deliver the film’s action points, but there is a tightly controlled and contrived plot behind it all and it earns the emotional points it scores.

Christopher Nolan described the film as a heist movie and this is the foundation of the narrative drive but the path is strewn with trap doors and shifting sands and the rabbit hole goes deeper and deeper as the film progresses, resulting in four stories on four levels of reality; it’s like the set of Rear Window populated by the James Stewart and Grace Kelly as every couple.

The ideas behind the film are relatively unusual for a summer blockbuster and Inception cannot escape the slow start in which the audience is introduced to the ideas at play, but Nolan peppers the interplay with hints to a greater understanding rather than explaining it outright. The mystery escapes the muddle with an impeccable cast and a script which does as much to control the potential chaos of the ideas in play without ever feeling cheap.

Nolan has spoken of his influences (see our Exclusive interview with Nolan here) for the film, alluding to Escher (whose work we see stunningly adapted in its rendering here) and the labyrinths of Borges and the film needs a strong hand to guide you through its intricacies and Nolan and DiCaprio conspire to bring the wandering heroes of Borges to life here, with confusion and a worrying surrealism on one side and oblivion on the other.

DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt spark off of each other and Nolan newcomer Ellen Page does well with what is, at its essence, a cipher for the audience and her role is lost a little in the ensuing reality warp. Tom Hardy is easily the most exciting talent on offer here and makes the most of his character’s careless charm.

But it is Nolan as the puppet master who is the key to unlocking the puzzle of Inception. It’s a good, strong film, original and full of ideas and does what every good heist movie should and delivers tension, danger, strong and engaging characters as well as showing us things we’ve not seen on screen before. The decision to move away from CG and stick with as many practical visual effects as possible work wonders. The helicopter shots of chases through real cities do much to draw on the notion of cities as labyrinths and the IMAX friendly establishing shots offer a visual clue to the maze we are following Nolan through. The emotional heart of the movie between DiCaprio and an amazing, although sadly short, performance by Marion Cottilard works because this is their story, unravelled and unreliably told and at journey’s end we too are left standing after the madness and chaos with the credits offering us the film’s oblivion with a sense of wonder, and of potential of what is next for Nolan and for the summer blockbuster.

Inception is released in UK Cinemas July 16th. You can view all our coverage of the movie here.

RELATED ARTICLES

26 COMMENTS

  2. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by HeyUGuys Movie News, Substance and others. Substance said: RT @HeyUGuysBlog Inception Review : HeyUGuys – UK Movie Blog http://bit.ly/cPp1oq […]

  3. […] Inception Review : HeyUGuys – UK Movie Blog […]

  5. […] Inception Review : HeyUGuys – UK Movie Blog […]

  6. It was entertaining, Tony, and the two and a half hours or so went by quickly – once you're into the heist you stay involved to see how it will all turn out. It's very cold though, with virtually no humour, it's like getting a quantum mechanics lesson from a very good professor. With explosions. I enjoyed it, and I think most people would.

  7. […] Inception Review : HeyUGuys – UK Movie Blog Share and Enjoy: […]

  8. […] Inception Review : HeyUGuys – UK Movie Blog […]

  9. Did Nolan up for a directing class and hold his camera steady for a minute because he finally had enough confidence in his “script” to the let action unfold without him giving the audience motion sickness? Anywhizzle, I'll stick with Kon. Wonder if “The Dreaming Machine will come out anytime soon, and if it's going to be about, exactly what it sounds like it'll be about.

  14. Personally the worlds I imagine I'd be in have some form of humor in them, which Nolan seems to be impossible to do. Also you know, my worlds don't give my motion sickness when “interesting” things are going on. The interesting things keep my interest, not the movement around them.

    Then again you know, I'm of the impression most people realize Nolan is an amateur film maker given big budgets. Where when he had no budget he made the entertaining/interesting films and now with the big budgets makes boring shite.

  15. […] (5/5): Inception Guardian (4/5): … um=twitter HeyUGuys: Inception Review : HeyUGuys – UK Movie Blog Hit Fix: … equal-ease Hollywood Outbreak: […]

  16. […] week, we have the movie that everyone is desperate to see, Inception. You can read Jon’s review of the movie here. Inception is released in US  & UK  cinemas 16th July and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken […]

  17. Inception Review : HeyUGuys ? UK Movie Blog…

    I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…

  20. Inception Review – brace yourselves to be taken to unimaginable heights – Huffington Post (blog) | Blog-about.com Free Blogs

    […] rave reviews tell us almost nothing (while making us 10 …Entertainment WeeklySky Movies -HeyUGuys.co.uk (blog) -Los Angeles Times (blog)all 489 news […]

  24. This film is not for those who want entertainment or mushy emotions; this is a complex film that appeals only to the serious and thinking audience.

  25. great spoiler proof review Jon – thanks

    The first time I watched the Matrix I was fairly bamboozled – repeated viewing and a clearer understanding opens it up as a more fulfilling and enjoyable film in my opinion. Be interesting to see if the same thing happens here…

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© HeyUGuys Ltd
Exit mobile version