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Review: Inception

***** (M)

Director: Christopher Nolan.

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard.

YOU'LL need to pay close attention to keep up with the dreamworld machinations of this mind-blowing heist movie, which is one of the first blockbuster classic of the '10s.

But you'll want to pay close attention anyway, because you won't want to miss a second of this thought-provoking spectacular.

To say too much about the plot would be a mistake, as the pleasure of watching Christopher Nolan's unpredictable thriller unravel in unexpected and inventive ways is half the fun.

All you need to know is that Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, the leader of a team of thieves that specialises in stealing ideas from people's subconscious by entering their dreams.

What follows is an elaborate cerebral actioner that delves into the power of the mind and blurs dreams and reality in exciting ways. It plunges the audience into dreams within dreams, resulting in some incredible sequences including a zero-g fight in a hotel corridor, a slow-mo explosion in a Parisian street, and the remarkable sight of watching the world fold in on itself.

But the film would be nothing without heart, but through DiCaprio's troubled Cobb and Cillian Murphy's billionaire heir Robert Fischer we get two emotional cores to help balance Inception's brainy concepts.

These concepts (which are Matrix-esque and then some) drive the movie, which makes it a bit exposition-heavy, but the ideas are fascinating and backed by great performances and jaw-dropping visuals that you won't mind the endless explaining.

This is not a movie for everyone. Comments heard while leaving the cinema included "I didn't get it - that was crap", "What a waste of time and money", and "It put me to sleep". But if you liked The Matrix and dig non-linear plotting, enjoy.

If you're looking for a big dumb actioner to switch your brain off to, don't bother. If you don't like actually paying attention to an entire movie, don't bother. If you don't like a movie to challenge you in unique ways, don't bother.

But if you're looking for a classic-in-waiting that will keep you guessing and thinking while you pick your jaw up off the floor, don't miss Inception.

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Date: Newest first | Oldest first
This film baffles me. Or rather its reception baffles. i did not find it remotely complicated. indeed the plot is very very simple - the voyage home. i think homer did it better, but that's not really a fair comparison. My dreams very rarely have many guns or explosions on them. This film needed to be much much odder to properly invoke the world of dreams. The embarrassingly corny ending merely serves to underline how little Leo's journey really matters to us. Cold, almost humourless, this is merely an illustrated idea. A movie for the post-literate generation, upper age limit probably around 24. Anyone who has actually read a decent novel will find it rather tiresome.
Posted by jedediah leland, 20/08/2010 6:40:23 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard

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Movies Ate My Life
The Standard's movie reviewer MATT NEAL rants and raves and reviews.
Zero gravity battles are just half the fun in Inception.
Zero gravity battles are just half the fun in Inception.

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